Feeding Frenzy: Sarasota restaurants adjust to increased activity

What a difference a year makes.

In March 2020, faced with a mandate from the governor to cease dine-in operations, Made Restaurant owner and chef Mark Woodruff offered discounts in hopes of enticing customers to place to-go orders. In spring 2021, with restrictions lifted, vaccinations underway and COVID-19 numbers down, Woodruff doesn’t need to do much to sell diners on the idea of eating out.

“We are absolutely slammed, out of control,” Woodruff said. “It’s going really well.”

Across Sarasota, even as the pandemic persists, restaurants serve as a leading sign of a return to normalcy. Customers are filling tables not only in outdoor dining areas, but also inside restaurants. Restaurateurs said their business in March approached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and they expressed optimism activity could continue to grow as more people feel comfortable sharing spaces with others.

“We’re seeing a little bit more business than we expected,” said Chris Covelli, executive chef at Sage SRQ. “I think people have been locked down for so long that they’re so antsy to get out.”

Although restaurant operators are grateful for the influx of customers after an unprecedented year defined by closures, the present period of the pandemic is posing new challenges. Getting diners back into their business has been easy, but finding enough workers to serve them hasn’t. Operating models are still in a state of flux. Indoor dining plans vary from restaurant to restaurant, and businesses continue to seek out opportunities to maintain and expand outdoor eating areas.

As restaurants navigate an ever-evolving environment, those in the industry expressed gratitude for the community that allowed them to persevere.

“The Sarasota people have been more generous than I could ever believe,” said Jim Palermo, chef and co-owner of The Oasis Cafe.

Help wanted

Covelli said Sage was fortunate to retain most of its workers through the  pandemic and into this year’s surge. Zach Dauth, the restaurant’s event director, knows the business is an exception.

“What we’ve seen around town is almost every restaurant or hospitality industry business has a sign out front,” Dauth said.

Individuals in the restaurant industry offer a variety of theories for why staffing is in such short supply. One of the most commonly identified factors is the extension of federal emergency unemployment programs through September. (According to state data, the non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the Sarasota metropolitan area was 3.7% in February, down from 4.0% in January and up from 3.2% in February 2020.)

Some workers told their employers they’re hesitant to return to work before they get vaccinated. Others found new jobs or moved when restaurant work was unreliable at the pandemic’s height.

For those who remain in the restaurant workforce — especially those with experience — their labor is suddenly at a premium. Woodruff said those workers now have their pick of job opportunities. Some businesses are able to offer salary increases. Restaurants operating on thinner margins have a harder time.

“Maybe corporations can, but these mom and pops can’t survive paying the price for workers now,” Woodruff said. “I can’t pay a line cook $17, $18, $19 an hour and survive.”

Woodruff said the challenge extends beyond staffing the restaurant, too. Food and beverage vendors are having a hard time finding drivers, which means supplies are not getting to restaurants on the normal schedule. Delivery plans are disrupted. Food prep routines are thrown off. Restaurants ask available workers to handle more responsibility and cover longer shifts.

Palermo said he and his staff of four full-time employees have more or less worked seven days a week since the beginning of 2021.

“I’ve done more dishes in the past year than I ever have before because I can’t find a dishwasher,” Palermo said. “I could hire four full-time people tomorrow if I could find them.”

Short of significant salary increases, Woodruff said he’s trying to create incentives for new workers, such as bonuses for staying at least 90 days after being hired. So far, he hasn’t landed on an effective strategy for addressing a problem he has never encountered in more than 25 years of restaurant experience.

“Nothing’s working,” Woodruff said. “I don’t know where these people are. It’s never happened like this before.”

Out to eat

Like many restaurants, Knick’s Tavern and Grill has relied on expanded outdoor dining over the past year as regulations limited indoor business activity.

In  March, owner Knickole Barger received a message from the city informing her she needed to remove a canopy above the dining area in a parking space in front of the restaurant. Barger questioned why the business needed to take down a protective structure that has been in place since June 2020 and asked city officials for assistance navigating the regulations governing outdoor dining in the public right of way.

“We did this on our own several months ago, with hard earned money trying to stay open and keep our community safe,” Barger said in a March 25 email to the city regarding the outdoor improvement installed at Knick’s.

City Manager Marlon Brown said the city is working to refine its regulations on outdoor dining on public property, authorized as an emergency measure last year. Brown said the emergency nature of the initial regulations is key: The city intends to maintain expanded outdoor dining at least through 2021, but the state’s COVID-19 emergency declaration could expire this month without an extension from the governor.

Brown said the city wanted to be conscientious of the challenges restaurants are facing, but he said officials needed to take steps to ensure public safety. He said he hoped the city’s desire to continue to provide space for outdoor dining was a sign the local government is invested in helping restaurants recover.

“We want to see the city get around the curve of this pandemic,” Brown said. “We want to see our city get back to life; we want to see the vibrancy.”

Even after a difficult year, not all restaurant professionals are focused solely on maximizing revenue. Asked what steps he’d like to see local officials take to help his business, Covelli mentioned continuing to establish and enforce safety guidelines, such as social distancing and mask-wearing when appropriate. Covelli said Sage is still at 50% indoor capacity.

He continues to treat the health threat seriously in part because of what he went through in 2020: His husband died of COVID-19, and Covelli had a case that affected him for nearly three weeks. As a result, he’s intent on taking steps to ensure patrons are being courteous of those around them.

“For the people who are not trying to be safe, they’re disregarding the personal experiences of everyone else out there,” he said.

Despite the persisting challenges, restaurateurs expressed a sense of gratitude toward the customers who kept their businesses afloat during the pandemic. Woodruff encouraged the public to continue to seek out Sarasota restaurants as dine-in activity increases.

“Keep as local as possible,” Woodruff said. “All of us little guys — me, Indigenous, Ama La Vita, Lila. We’re all here.”