Wichita restaurants facing uncertainty, fear and tough decisions about staying open
As Wichita restaurateurs wait to see if Kansas will follow the lead of states like Illinois, Ohio, New York and New Jersey and order all restaurants and bars temporarily closed for dine-in customers, their decisions about what exactly to do in the meantime are all over the place.
One thing they all have in common, though, is anxiety and fear about the future and the long-term impact of loss of business and income as the country deals with coronavirus fears.
Some are continuing with business as usual but are sending out e-mails assuring customers that they’ve stepped up their cleaning efforts and are are prohibiting sick employees from coming to work. Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on Monday sent out an e-mail assuring customers it was enhancing sanitation procedures and closely monitoring the communities where they have restaurants.
Some are making alterations that they hope will keep customers coming during the uncertainty. Tanya’s Soup Kitchen is offering next-day delivery and curbside pickup and has switched to a limited menu. Several other restaurants, including Public at the Brickyard. The Monarch and Albero Cafe, have removed heavily handled things like salt and pepper shakers and sauces from tabletops.
Some are proactively closing their dining rooms and offering to-go meals only. Cliff Bragg announced on Sunday that his Milkfloat at 535 W. Douglas and Gladspoon at 7330 W. Maple would be open for carryout and curb-side service only. Chick-fil-A stores in Wichita have closed their dining rooms and are offering drive-through service only.
Some are taking even more extreme measures. Alex Harb, the owner of three Meddys restaurants in Wichita, has closed all three of his restaurants and laid off his 100 employees. For now, he said, he’s focusing all his efforts on offering meals for kids in the community who can’t get them while schools are closed. The Beacon, a downtown diner whose origins trace back 82 years, announced on Monday that it was closing completely until at least April 1.
It’s a scary and uncertain time, said Adam Mills, the executive director of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association, whose past several days have been spent trying to get answers for his members — answers that in many cases aren’t yet available.
He’s among many state restaurant association leaders lobbying Congress to enact measures that will help restaurants and other small businesses survive, including allowing them to defer mortgage, lease and loan obligations, helping them get tax credits if they retain employees, allowing them to delay or defer tax obligations and helping them get affordable loans.
“I don’t know if anyone knows what to do at this point,” Mills said. “I know some restaurants are already taking preemptive measure to close. But I think they all have to make their own decisions.”
Playing it safe
Doo-Dah Diner at 206 E. Kellogg is one of Wichita’s most well-known restaurants, and its owner Timirie Shibley is the current chair of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association board.
On Monday, she and her co-owner husband, Patrick, had a tough decision to make.
They’d been getting calls all weekend from fellow restaurant owners asking the Shibleys what they were going to do, asking what the Shibleys thought they should do.
They decided that, with no way of knowing how their customers and staff could be affected if they continued to operate as normal, they’d err on the side of caution. They announced plans Monday to close the diner for now but to ramp up production at their next-door Doo-Dah Market, which sells take-and-bake meals.
Although she’s scared about the long term and was dreading letting her employees know about the decision, she’s among those who feels like closing is the right move at the moment.
“I feel being proactive is important for us if we’re going to lower that curve,” she said. “Maybe we are over preparing, but you know what? I’d rather over prepare and be part of the solution.”
Though Doo-Dah was still busy over the weekend, she said, sales were down, and she feels they’ll only continue to decline. She wants her employees to be able to apply for unemployment and get ahead of the curve.
It’s a scary time to be in restaurants, she said, but it’s a scary time for all small businesses.
“It is absolutely terrifying,” she said. “However I take solace in knowing we’re not alone in this. We’re all going to have problems playing our Evergy bills. It’s not just Doo-Dah Diner or even just restaurants.”
Meddys’ Harb said he started worrying late last week when he found himself not wanting to pick up a plate off a table at his restaurant, fearing he could contract the virus.
He couldn’t justify keeping his employees or customers in what could be a risky situation, he said. He considered closing the dining room and offering carryout only but then he decided he wanted to take it a step further. Today, he’s meeting with various agencies and nonprofits trying to decide how he can help feed kids in need. His hope is that his three restaurants will be able to provide 1,200 meals a day — breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“At this time, it’s not about the bank accounts, the money, the making profits,” he said. “It’s about society. It’s about our existence in the long term.”
Not all local bar owners and restaurateurs are in agreement about how far to go, though.
At the Shamrock in Delano, owner Justin Brown went ahead with his bar’s annual St. Patrick’s Day bash on Saturday night and, despite the cancellation of the big St. Patrick’s Day parade, he had a larger crowd than last year. He kept count at the door and complied with the county’s edict banning crowds of more than 250, he said.
On Monday morning, he said, his plan was to do the same thing for his St. Patrick’s Day bash on Tuesday. After the county announced a new ban on crowds of 50 or more, Brown said he’d have to comply with that order, too. He announced plans to throw three separate 50-person parties on Tuesday, complete with corned beef and cabbage and bagpipes, one at each of his local bars: The Shamrock, Barleycorn’s and Snug Harbor.
“I am at the mercy of the choices made by the government,” he said.
What diners can do
The situation is also dire for food truckers, even though they conduct their business in open air.
Cynthia Wilson, owner of LumpiaPalooza food truck, has been frustrated by repeated suggestions that she just set up on a corner, let the people come to her and wait for the cash flow in.
In reality, she said, truckers have been in virtual dormancy for the winter and were all counting on the launch of food truck season and all the big gatherings that come with it. That’s where they make the bulk of their money.
Already, many of the big events she had on her calendar have been canceled, including the season’s first Food Trucks at the Fountain season kick off event that was scheduled for Sunday, March 29.
“We depend on crowds,” she said. “And right now, crowds aren’t allowed.”
They’re still able to keep appointments with businesses who allow them to set up in parking lots over lunchtime hours and feed their employees. But those gigs usually don’t bring in more than $300 and provide not much more than “gas money,” Wilson said.
Even then, truckers are reporting having a hard time getting items they need at local grocery stores — cleaning products, to-go containers, even rice and beans.
An added problem — all truckers will owe the city $400 by April 21 for their city licenses, which allow them to be on the streets. Wilson said she plans to contact the city to see if those payments could be postponed this year.
She’s among a chorus of restaurateurs asking Wichita diners to think about local businesses and their favorite restaurants when making decisions over the next couple of weeks.
Many restaurants are encouraging customers over social media to stop by for carryout meals or even to buy gift certificates that can be used when things get back to normal.
The “eat local” movement is more important now than ever, Wilson said.
“Applebee’s will survive. Cracker Barrel will survive. Chick-fil-A will survive,” she said. “Even if you’ve never done it before, just make it a rule right now to eat local because you’re putting food on the table of friends and family in Wichita. You’re saving jobs in Wichita. It gives you power when we all feel so powerless.”
Wichita restaurants closing or closing dining rooms
Here’s a list of some of the Wichita restaurants that are closed for the time being. Some are still offering carryout. E-mail dneil@wichitaeagle.com of you know of others.
Angelo’s, 5231 E. Central: Closing the dining room for at least 15 days starting Tuesday. Carryout and take and bake still available.
The Anchor, 1113 E. Douglas: Dining room is closed. Working on plan to offer family meals and groceries through the Anchor Meat Market.
The Beacon, 909 E. Douglas: Closed until April 1
Buster’s Burger Joint, 1202 E. MacArthur: Closed at least through Sunday.
Chick fil-A: All Wichita restaurants closing dining rooms, offering drive-through only.
Doo-Dah Diner, 206 E. Kellogg: Restaurant closed, Doo-Dah Market next door open for take-and-bake and family meals to go.
Elderslie Farm: Formal dining closed until April 20.
Fireside Grill, inside the Corporate Hills Marriott, 9100 E. Corporate Hills Drive: Closed until further notice
Gladspoon, 7330 W. Maple: Dining room closed, carryout and curbside takeout available
Great Harvest, 535 N. Woodlawn: Open for take-out, delivery and curbside pickup. Dining room closed
Meddys: Three Wichita locations closed until further notice.
Milkfloat, 535 W. Douglas: Dining room closed but carry-out and curbside takeout available
Nu-Way: Dining rooms are closed until further notice. Drive-throughs open on East Harry, South Seneca and West Central. Curbside service provided at West Douglas and East Central.
San Salvador Cafe, 5518 W. Central: Open for to-go orders only until March 21.
Sapporo, 8065 E. Peachtree: Dining room closed, open for to-go, online and call-in orders
Vorshay’s Cocktail Lounge, 417 E. Douglas: Closed until March 23.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
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