The Gavel Public House. Horse N’ Carriage. James’ Breakfast and More. All longtime food establishments in the tri-town area– all of them now battling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Our local restaurants have long been places to spend time with friends, enjoy a good meal, and connect with our community. But all of that has changed with the pandemic. 

Since the end of March, the pandemic has been destructive to industries nationwide, with economic problems emerging as businesses shut down during the initial quarantine period. In particular, the restaurant industry, which is one of the biggest employers of Americans, has taken a major hit. 

According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry was expected to hit $899 billion in sales; it is now projected tolose $240 billion by the end of 2020. And this economic damage can be seen through the jobs lost. Just by the end of April, eight million Americans working in the restaurant industry had been laid off or furloughed. This normally thriving industry is not built to withstand a deadly virus. Restaurants are designed to accommodate large groups of people and facilitate close interaction – all actions that spread COVID-19. And in Massachusetts, restaurants are facing an intense struggle to survive the pandemic. 

When the virus initially hit Massachusetts, business shut down to halt its spread. After two months of quarantine, local businesses gradually began to reopen under the state’s phased reopening plan – though damage had already been done. According to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, 20% of restaurants in the state are on track to close permanently in the aftermath of the virus. And now, in the thick of Phase 3, restaurants are trying to reestablish business levels to pre-pandemic times – or at least as close as possible.

Under the Massachusetts reopening plan, restaurants have to meet specific requirements in order to reopen, which include limited party sizes, having distanced tables, and enough proper disinfectant items like hand sanitizer. Now local restaurants are trying to reopen under these difficult circumstances, especially with indoor dining allowed to resume as well. 

Jon Cox, owner of The Gavel Public House in Wrentham, spoke about his restaurant’s experiences during this time. 

“There’s no question the past few months have been a challenge,” he said. “The challenges we have faced and continue to face were transforming our dine-in restaurant to a takeout and delivery service, then adjusting back to into use of our patio and dining room.” 

During the pandemic, The Gavel has experienced support from customers and even found ways to try and help the community in turn by preparing meals for senior citizens and offering free kids meals. In pre-pandemic times, The Gavel helped host free community suppers (occurring on the first and third Thursday of every month) at the Grange in Norfolk. 

Kevin O’Boy, owner of Horse N’ Carriage in Norfolk, noted that his restaurant has been trying to maintain business primarily through takeout services, though the restaurant eventually reopened indoor dining on July 16 as well. Unlike The Gavel and James’ Breakfast and More, Horse N’ Carriage has no plans to offer outdoor dining as of now because their area doesn’t accommodate it well--a challenge hurting small businesses with limited space.

James Arsenault, owner and chef at James’ Breakfast and More in Wrentham, reopened his restaurant on July 9. He noted that along with the challenges of meeting all of the restrictions in place, there is also the struggle of getting business levels prior to the shutdown reestablished again.

“What they’re saying in the industry is that 25% of your sales are never coming back,” said Arsenault. 

Yet he remains hopeful that things will begin to pick up again over time, as more customers gradually return through word of mouth and outreach.

Each of the restaurants has also been engaging with the community through their Facebook pages as a way to update customers with important news and daily specials. This social media engagement has been helpful for the restaurants, creating another space for them to connect with their customers.

Now that indoor dining is open again, the restaurants have started to see some more improvement in sales. However, with restrictions in place, it has been difficult restructuring their spaces to create an atmosphere that is both open and welcoming, and safe. The indoor aspect of dining, though it is returning, also comes with an increased fear about the risk of exposure. For now, takeout and outdoor dining seem to be the more popular dining options.

But ultimately, these restaurants want local residents to feel reassured and safe. They are following safety guidelines issued by the CDC, have stocked their places with cleaning and disinfectant equipment, and created protective barriers with distanced tables – but they now face the challenge of getting people to dine out in greater numbers again.

“It is safe,” said Arsenault. “We’d love to see more smiling faces in the local community dining out again.” 

But what will the next few months bring? As of this writing, cases have gradually exploded across several states again, bringing the risk of another shutdown. The future remains uncertain, and with that uncertainty, local restaurants are bracing for the possibility of more economic damage to come. 

“We’ve been in business for 36 years,” said O’Boy. “To think that a virus could be the one thing that puts us out of business, I can’t even comprehend that.”