Six months in: 5 Florida restaurants reflect on COVID-19 marathon in pandemic diaries

In the rose-colored days of early March, when it was still called the "novel coronavirus" and it was still believed hand-washing would be enough, chefs and restaurant owners thought it would be a blip. 

A hurricane. An algae bloom. A pandemic. 

They'd survive. 

As the reality of the new COVID-19 world sank in, it became clear this was the opposite of a blip. This was an endurance race, a trial by never-ending fire, a test of grit and creativity, of taking the proverbial lemons and making not just lemonade but lemon tarts and preserved-lemon ceviches and lemon cocktails available through online ordering with no-contact delivery. 

And even if they made everything they could with the lemons, survival was not guaranteed. 

From March:SWFL restaurants lay off hundreds as state closes dining rooms 

Restaurant news:Flying Eagle finds a nest, HJ German Corner coming soon

In April, analysts from the investment banking company UBS estimated one in five restaurants could permanently close due to the pandemic. Most had little to no savings. They had no proven strategies on which to rely. There were no experts and no clear answers.

"Any pundit who thinks that they're going to use a recent history — and by recent history, I mean the last 100 years, including the Depression — as a template for what is going to go on here? They're kidding themselves," restaurant industry analyst Roger Lipton told Business Insider in April. 

Restaurant dining rooms closed statewide March 20. The last six months have been a slow and uneven recovery.

Chefs and restaurant owners have been on their own, to figure out bills, to find work for their staff, to plan furloughs, navigate rising food costs and learn the ins and outs of COVID-19 testing. 

We asked five of them from around Southwest Florida to document their experiences. 

These are some of the highlights of their stories. 

Early March, the Before Times

• What is happening? We are afraid and angry. The restaurant is gearing up for our most profitable month, and now we must run at half capacity, with no bar seating. Then the government shuts us down completely. It is a relief in some ways. The decision is made for us. — Jan Genovese and Mark Wildman, owners of Bianca's Ristorante in North Fort Myers

• The writing has been on the wall ... with business initially very strong, reflecting the time of year, then starting to decline, then dropping precipitously. The week leading up to the official closure (of dining rooms) on March 20, we receive countless cancellations of private reservations and party/function bookings ... The day the news of the closure came is very difficult, even if not unexpected. We’ve never been through anything like this, and the unknowns are considerable. — Caroline and Tony Ridgway, daughter-father owners of Ridgway Bar & Grill, Tony's Off Third and Bayside Seafood Grill in Naples

March 20: Florida closes dining rooms

• Closed. Will we ever open again? How many weeks do I have on the boxed meat I cut by hand? Will this president put us all into bankruptcy? Will all my food rot before we can reopen? Once a week, I go shopping in my restaurant. How long can we hold on? — Vollen Loucks, executive chef Duval Street in Cape Coral

• We have no control over reopening because LA Fitness (the gym in which Fibrre resides at Gulf Coast Town Center) is closed. Our initial reaction is to look at our finances. What bills are outstanding? What will happen to rent payments? And how long can we manage without money coming in? — Adenike Johnson, chef-owner of Fibrre in San Carlos Park

• It is quite a shock to quickly transition to takeout business only as we are not really set up for this. Presentation is a big part of our plates. We also add delivery to assist those who wish to remain at home. We clean everything in the restaurant over and over as we have both the time and necessity. ... We are positive things will turn around. It is just a question of when. — Gloria Jordan, chef-owner of La Trattoria Cafe Napoli in south Fort Myers

Show me the (PPP) money

• We spend weeks working with bankers, the Small Business Administration, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity ... The bankers ask us to share what WE know about the process, because they ... don't know what's going on. We have to navigate on our own. Our hard work pays off and we receive the Paycheck Protection Program money. — Jan and Mark, Bianca's Ristorante

• I apply for government aid and the PPP, both of which I am denied. — Adenike, Fibrre

• We do not receive first round (of PPP). Second round, receive half of what we are told we are eligible for. A sad joke. A roofing company receives $1.2 million in Cape Coral. — Vollen, Duval Street

• Yes we apply, and yes we receive it. — Caroline and Tony, Ridgway Bar & Grill et al. 

• We do receive one (round), probably within 10-14 days. —  Gloria, La Trattoria Cafe Napoli

Previous coverage:Breaking point: As COVID-19 cases surge, Florida restaurants closing for 'summer breaks'

April: Worries to-go

• We discuss staying open for to-go only. We decide against it because it is such a small percentage of our business. At this point in time, all our perishable food has been given to staff or donated. We have deep cleaned the restaurant and locked the doors. Bianca’s customer base is 85% seniors older than 55, with the great majority over 70. ... Because of their vulnerability to COVID-19, and after talking to many of our regulars, we know they won't be comfortable leaving their houses for quite some time. — Jan and Mark, Bianca's

• Oh my goodness, what’s going on?!  That’s the thought in my head. This is a tough month. I thought it would be two weeks and we would get back to normal (but LA Fitness is still closed). ... We pivot to do what we can via YouTube to keep our customers healthy. I am so busy trying to navigate these waters, I forget my own health and mental sanity. — Adenike, Fibrre

May 4: Dining rooms reopen at 25% capacity

• What's working? Cheap specials and extended happy hour. Nobody sits inside. Thank God for our patio and outside bar or we would be done. People have lost all empathy. Nasty phone calls. Nasty messages on Facebook page about distancing. Our opening day, May 5, someone calls in a complaint, so 2 p.m. (Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco) is onsite, 3 p.m. health department shows up, 4 p.m. it's Cape Coral Police Department. It's disheartening someone called in a complaint. We have no one sitting at the bar, as the rules say. Sad. Sickening. — Vollen, Duval Street

• Most of our customers from the Northeast and Midwest have returned home. Many said: "If we have to stay home, it may as well be in our own home!" — Gloria, La Trattoria Cafe Napoli

June: year-over-year revenue check

Bianca's: down 75% 

Fibrre: down 100% 

La Trattoria Cafe Napoli: down 50% as of March; revenue is steadily increasing

Ridgway Bar & Grill, Tony's Off Third and Bayside Seafood Grill: In March, revenue at Bayside drops 95% and is down 81% at Ridgway and Tony's. By June, the restaurants, which have the benefits of ample open-air seating and spacious dining areas, are up in year-over-year revenues, by 41% at Bayside and 67% at Ridgway and Tony's. 

Duval Street: n/a (opened in January)

July: The virus spikes

• This is negatively impacting the restaurants. There is a lot of uncertainty. The beaches are closed and opened and closed again. ... We are experiencing positive cases within our staff and choose to close the entire business for about 10 days to ensure testing, cleaning and mitigation of any further contamination. The local, regional and national PR is that Florida is now a dangerous place to be. Even if we’re being as careful as possible, it becomes increasingly clear we can’t avoid this; we can only endure, and try to adhere as closely as possible to safety practices. — Caroline and Tony, Ridgway Bar & Grill et al. 

• I start looking for work in June, any kind of job, just to keep up with the bills and buy food. The future of Fibrre starts to be in question. We pivot to offering vegan protein and desserts available through online purchase ... but without marketing, it never takes off. We have no income and our reserves are starting to dry up. We finally get the go-ahead (from LA Fitness) to reopen. We plan to launch June 20. Unfortunately, my husband contracts coronavirus while attending his aunt's funeral. His mom, dad and two sisters become sick, too. We have to keep the restaurant closed even longer. — Adenike, Fibrre

• We reopen June 2. The reopening goes very smoothly, because of the entire staff’s planning and hard work. We completely change our operational policies (masked employees, paper menus, Plexiglas shields, sanitation stations). It is very costly, at all levels. We have had to replace nearly our entire food inventory. Insurance companies are not paying out restaurants for loss of goods. (When the virus spikes), our traffic falls dramatically. We are doing maybe 20 to 25% of the 50% allowed capacity. The drop off comes so hard and so fast. We start discussing shutting down temporarily. — Jan and Mark, Bianca's

August: The marathon continues

• The money has run out. This is the hardest Fibrre has been hit ever. We have been closed for close to five months with zero income ... when we reopen in August, customers' buying patterns have changed. People are bringing food to the gym. Other restaurants that you had to eat in are now offering delivery and curbside pickup. Fibrre's hours of operation have changed due to our inability to afford staff. The likelihood of Fibrre being open a year from now is less than 20%. — Adenike, Fibrre

• We are temporarily closed until conditions improve. — Jan and Mark, Bianca's (reporter's note: Bianca's plans to reopen in late October)

• Customer counts are down. Liquor sales are up. People are happy or sad or both and drinking more now that the bar is open. Staff have a hard time focusing on their jobs and service. The world is a mess. People complain if we wear masks. They complain if we don't wear masks. Prime rib night and Friday nights are BUSY every week now. ... But every day, we live in fear of being closed again, that the staff won't have work, that this will be the end. It's sad. — Vollen, Duval Street

• Customers are starting to come around a bit more now. ... We are still cleaning feverishly, and using sanitizers and masks for all employees. This craziness is starting to feel like the new normal — unbelievable! Revenues are nearly as they would have been last year, although we did not close for a week like we normally do around this time. Hoping the fall is going to be a turnaround for everyone. ... Confidence seems to be growing. Cannot wait for this year to end!!! — Gloria, La Trattoria Cafe Napoli

• We feel confident in what we’re doing as independently owned, local businesses. We are grateful that (Collier's) Board of County Commissioners enacted a short-term mask mandate. These measures are, we believe, definitively helpful. We have signs on our doors respectfully asking guests to wear masks when not seated at a table. By and large, people have been gracious and accommodating. The biggest open question for everyone in any hospitality/service business: What’s going to happen to season? It’s very hard to plan when you don’t know what’s coming. ... We’re generally acting as though season will still happen, and so (we're) wanting to be ready. But who knows? How do you staff for the unknown? How do you plan financially for the unknown? Will seasonal residents and tourists return to Florida this year? — Caroline and Tony, Ridgway Bar & Grill et al. 

September: ... and it continues

"Nobody knows anything. That's what I've learned these six months," Gloria Jordan says in a phone call Sept. 10. "What else can I say? We are on our own for this one."

Submissions have been edited for grammar and clarity. 

Have a question about Southwest Florida restaurants and the pandemic? Email this reporter: atometich@news-press.com or connect at @abellewrites (Instagram) 

In case you missed it:Will crowded restaurants ever be fun again? — JLB in 3 Tweets

Back to the bars:Florida bars may reopen at half capacity, state says

More

Bianca's Ristorante (reopening planned for late October): 16251 N. Cleveland Ave., North Fort Myers; 239-995-3272; biancasnfm.com

Duval Street in Cape Coral: 4721 Vincennes Blvd., Cape Coral; 239-542-0185; duvalstreetcc.com

Fibrre: inside the Gulf Coast Town Center LA Fitness at 10058 Gulf Center Drive, San Carlos Park; 239-932-9015; fibrre.com

La Trattoria Cafe Napoli: 12377 S. Cleveland Ave., south Fort Myers; 239-931-0050; latrattoriacafenapoli.com

Bayside Seafood Grill: 4270 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., Naples; 239-649-5552; baysideseafoodgrillandbar.com

Ridgway Bar & Grill: 1300 Third St. S. No. 101, Naples; 239-262-5500; ridgwaybarandgrill.com

Tony's Off Third: 1300 Third St. S., Naples; 239-262-7999; tonysoffthird.com