With new state restrictions, these Whatcom businesses are figuring out how to survive
As Washington state attempts to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control, it’s becoming clear that Whatcom County local businesses are facing difficult choices about how to survive.
On Thursday, July 30, a variety of new restrictions took effect as part of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” program. Some of the biggest changes for local businesses include the closing of indoor gaming areas, limiting restaurant indoor dining seating to household members, bars and breweries closing indoor service as well as alcohol sales ending at 10 p.m. each night. On Thursday, Aug. 6, wedding receptions are prohibited while ceremonies will still be allowed.
The new rules come at a time when businesses were just figuring out how to adapt to the original Phase 2 rules.
Restaurants are making difficult choices. Our Diner, which serves breakfast and lunch in Laurel at 5962 Guide Meridian, made the difficult choice to close its indoor dining and only offer to-go or some limited outdoor seating. Babe Perez, who operates the business with Bud Hoff, said enforcing face-covering rules were already challenging; trying to enforce family-only seating at tables would be too difficult for her employees.
“It’s just so hard to enforce,” Perez said, adding that breakfast places are traditional known for friends gathering together and enjoying a meal. She said the diner, which opened in 2013, has a good crew in place and she is trying to avoid layoffs by cutting back on shifts.
The Horseshoe Cafe in downtown Bellingham had to close its Ranch Room bar area, but will continue to offer indoor dining while following the new state mandates, said Kate Groen, co-owner of the long-running establishment. It will also offer a reduced menu, but keep the classics, she said. They will also reduce hours to 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Even though the bar is closed to the area, alcoholic drinks will be available in the cafe area.
Groen said business has been steady in Phase 2, with take-out and bar sales leading the way. The goal of breaking even “feels like a win at this point in 2020.”
However, the new mandates also meant reducing staff at the Horseshoe.
“We really want to make sure that our businesses make it through this pandemic, and with that has come really hard decisions,” Groen said in an email. “We’ve been extremely lucky because our team has been incredibly understanding, caring and positive throughout everything.”
Card room closed
Jas Gill, who operates the Slo Pitch Sports Grill and Casino, spent more than $10,000 on improvements to make sure the card tables met the Phase 2 guidelines. On July 30 he was forced to close the card room and has decided to keep the restaurant open to at least bring in some money and not have to layoff all of his employees.
“We’re going to try and survive as a restaurant, hoping that the casino will reopen soon,” Gill said in a phone interview.
Gill said he is definitely on board with focusing on doing things to stop the spread of COVID-19, and he believes the changes he made would have accomplished that goal. Clear partitions were installed between each card player’s seat as well as one for the dealer. Everyone was required to wear masks, temperatures were checked, everything was sanitized whenever a customer left the table.
“It’s like a fortress in here,” Gill said.
Having to shut the card room down is particularly frustrating because as far as he knows, Washington tribal casinos, through tribal sovereignty, are not closing down their card rooms.
“We just want a level playing field,” Gill said, adding that he’s hoping to talk to local legislators and show them what precautions Slo Pitch did take before being shut down.
Outdoor seating
Posts on social media show a wide range of changes local businesses are making to adjust to the new rules. Here are a few examples from Facebook:
▪ Dark Tower Games in downtown Bellingham has closed its gaming table operations, but will continue retail sales.
▪ Thousand Acre Cider House in downtown Bellingham has expanded its outdoor seating, which stretches out into the parking area, and won’t be serving indoors. It will continue its online ordering/pickup operation.
▪ Fringe Brewing in Ferndale has outdoor seating, serving beer and meals from food trucks.
▪ Station 49 (formerly known as Miniature World Family Fun Center) in Birch Bay will continue to have outdoor activities such as miniature golf, go-carts and the train open. The indoor arcade is closed and line dancing events are postponed.
▪ The Orion Bar in downtown Bellingham is closed for now as it adjusts to the new mandates.
▪ The Blue Abode Bar in Barkley Village has a restaurant license, so it can continue operating its food and drink menu with indoor and outdoor seating.
Fitness centers are also having to adjust. In Phase 2, which Whatcom County is currently in, only five gym members are allowed inside at a time. Becca Margulies, co-owner of Life Force Ninja, said they suspected tighter restrictions were coming, but were hoping Whatcom County wouldn’t be affected.
With these restrictions in place, she doesn’t expect to see the business be profitable during the pandemic, but that’s not the driving goal for her right now.
“Our business is heavily community-based — the physical and mental well-being of our clients is top priority and providing a safe space to come play and train is our main goal. Being open in any capacity is better than not being open at all,” Margulies said in an email.
Helping businesses
Given the new restrictions and the public goal of limiting social interactions, local businesses are under serious threat of permanent closure, perhaps more so than the hard shutdown this past spring. Six months into this pandemic, savings and credit options have been tapped for many in order to survive the earlier hard shutdown. Federal support appears to be slowing, although Congress is currently working on a new relief package.
Spending money at local businesses, including to-go meals at restaurants and gift certificates, still tops the list in terms of support. Several business owners had other observations as well:
▪ Be kind. Groen said people go into the service industry because they love this line of work, but it is tough mentally and emotionally right now as workers try to get customers to follow the rules.
“Understanding that everyone is sharing a really hard experience and trying to make the best of it is really important right now. A little positivity is really going a long way,” Groen said, noting that many Horseshoe customers have been wonderful in this regard.
▪ Showing the love on social media: Clicking “like” on business pages, sharing posts, typing comments are important in terms of providing more exposure online. Posting good reviews on places like Yelp for those doing it right can also help.
▪ Following the rules means the business won’t be shut down. At Life Force Ninja there was some push-back when it came to wearing masks during a workout, but that’s changed now, Margulies said.
“Overall, everyone has been incredibly supportive and understanding. Customers are grateful to have the space open and have been willing to work within the restrictions,” she said.
