This past week, smoke lingering in Clark County has given restaurants a bitter taste of the lost business they’re expecting when outdoor seating disappears in the colder months to come.
“The smoke cut us in half,” said Mark Matthias, owner of Beaches Restaurant & Bar. “It was immediate. Nobody will sit outside.”
Matthias is a member of Restaurant Roundtable, a grassroots group of Clark County business owners that is pressing the state government to ease up on COVID-19 restrictions in restaurants.
They say those restrictions — which include the 6-foot social distancing rule, allowing only household members at a table and limiting groups to parties of five — are going to suffocate restaurants once outdoor seating goes away due to the wind, rain and cold.
Outdoor tents aren’t exactly a silver bullet solution to suitable outdoor seating in the winter. Apart from the added costs of tents and heaters, current regulations only allow two walls of the tent to be up, so wind will inevitably whip through the exposed area and drive away guests, said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association.
“There are heaters for cold, cover for rain, but the wind won’t have anything,” said Anton.
Anton said that the Restaurant Roundtable has been the most influential group of any Washington county in urging the state to ease the restrictions. The group is presenting solution-oriented strategies instead of complaining.
“I don’t think any (counties) are being as organized and effective,” Anton said. “They’re setting the example of how to most impact change.”
The state is meeting weekly with the group, local politicians and the Washington Hospitality Association to discuss easing regulations. The state isn’t planning any immediate changes in policy, however.
“We are regularly engaged with stakeholders in the industry, such as the state Hospitality Association and the SW WA Restaurant Group, to talk about innovative ideas for allowing more activities, but as of now there are no planned changes in the works,” Mike Faulk, deputy communications director and press secretary for the office of Gov. Jay Inslee, wrote in an email to The Columbian on Wednesday.
The rate of cases has been up in Clark County since the past few weeks, with 23 new cases announced Wednesday. Restrictions won’t likely be eased until the state sees a slow down to 25 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, said Anton.
Over 80,000 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the state, and more than 2,000 people have died as of Wednesday. Clark County has had 3,026 confirmed cases and 53 deaths related to the virus in total.
The Restaurant Roundtable group was started in late March by Eric Sawyer from Vancouver consulting firm BBSI. The group includes about 150 local business owners, and the weekly calls draw about 60 people.
“I think we are at a crossroads where time is speeding up and the inevitable outcomes of many restaurant owners are getting closer in their rearview mirror,” said Sawyer. “How long can a business just hang on in survival mode, let alone in a mode of making money, which is the reason they went into business in the first place? There’s no indication in the near future of any change.”
Sawyer said that the current business model for restaurants is going to lead to more closures.
“A lot of restaurant owners are going to start throwing in the towel,” he said, echoing predictions from many local restaurant owners that up to half of local eateries could close because of the pandemic. “If you’re staying at 50 percent capacity with the 6-foot rule, most restaurants cannot make it and survive. If they make it 75 percent with the 6-foot rule, it won’t make any difference because of space restrictions.”
Matthias, who started Beaches in 1995 and is one of the more vocal leaders in the group, said there are three things the group is pushing hardest to change or at least discuss with the state: the 6-foot rule, the same-household rule and the five-person-party-size rule.
Matthias said that the household rule is unmanageable, and guests will lie about living in the same house. And as for the party size, he said Vancouver restaurants are losing business because Multnomah County allows for 10 people, so any party larger than five will drive across the river for a meal.
Choosing five for the party size was arbitrary and not backed by science, he said.
“I’m losing at least $1,000 a day losing groups that can go across the river and have a party for eight,” he said.
