If you open it, will they come?
If "it" is indoor dining, which opened Friday after being shuttered nearly six months to help flatten the COVID curve, the answer — at least for now — is no.
This week, Gov. Phil Murphy gave the OK for restaurants to serve indoors at 25% capacity, starting at 6 a.m. Friday.
There were no crowds, though it's hard to know whether that was because the weather was gorgeous, so people wanted to be outdoors, or because they're afraid of catching COVID.
Kevin Kohler, chef and owner of Cafe Panache in Ramsey, is not surprised that diners aren't rushing to eat indoors.
"People are worried," Kohler said, estimating that only one out of every five people who've called to reserve a table at his restaurant is willing to eat indoors. The overwhelming majority have requested seats outside, he said.
"I understand," he said.
He's worried too.
"I'm taking it slow," he said. "I'm only using six tables inside, or 15% capacity. I don't want to rush into this. I want to see how it goes."
After a nightmarish spring and summer of COVID-19 sickness and death in the Garden State — nearly 16,000 New Jersey residents have died — restaurateurs are not particularly surprised that some people are hesitant to venture inside to eat and drink.
After all, for months and months they've heard experts say that outdoor environments generally are safer than indoor environments, and learned that many "superspreading" events were linked to crowded indoor environments.
"People don't want to eat inside," said Cynthia Pacillo, chef and owner of Cyndia's in Totowa, a popular breakfast and lunch spot. "That seems to be the trend."
For now.
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She and other restaurateurs believe that with the passage of time, with some easing of concerns and with the arrival of cold weather, more people will be willing to dine inside.
"In the beginning (of the health crisis), people were hesitant to go outside their doors," said Steve Scro, owner of the Mohawk House Restaurant in Sparta. "It will take some time but I believe that their comfort level will rise and they will be more comfortable eating indoors."
Scro reported that only 20% of people who called to reserve tables were willing to sit inside; 80% of diners reserved tables outside.
"People who reserve tables in the latter part of the evening when it gets cooler, are more likely to request to sit inside," he said.
Even though restaurateurs have been clamoring to open their dining rooms, not everyone opted to offer inside seating on Friday.
Anthony Bucco, chef and partner of Felina in Ridgewood, for example, isn't opening his dining room until next week. "People who made reservations for this weekend assumed it was for the outside," he said.
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Luck Sarabhayavnija, owner of Ani Ramen, also is waiting until after the holiday weekend to open his spots in Jersey City, Montclair and Maplewood.
And Meny Vankin, chef/owner of MishMish and Marcel Bakery & Kitchen in Montclair isn't sure he's even going to offer indoor dining at such a restricted capacity.
"I'm not thinking about it," Vankin said. "It will take a lot to reopen the dining room, to reconfigure it. We don't have enough staff to reopen. Some have moved on to other jobs."
Can Alp, chef and owner of Zeugma in Montclair, has opened his dining room — and his restaurant is fully booked, he said — but he's far from thrilled.
"I lost 13 employees during this time," he said. "I had many good chefs in the kitchen. Some don't want to give up their unemployment payments. Some are scared; they said, "I don't want to work indoors.' Some people have found other jobs."
And he is worried. What if the virus surges again? What if his seats don't fill up?
"It's tough," he said.
Esther Davidowitz is the food editor for NorthJersey.com. For more on where to dine and drink, please subscribe today and sign up for our North Jersey Eats newsletter.
Email: davidowitz@northjersey.com Twitter: @estherdavido
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