With continued surges in the coronavirus, San Diego's hospitality industry could soon be facing an indoor dining ban.
As Mike Georgopoulos was prepping this week to finally open his swanky $10-million steakhouse in the Gaslamp Quarter, he stared down from his perch on the mezzanine with a mixture of delight — and dread. The floor-to-ceiling wine display and marble bar top were dazzling, and the wait staff, nattily attired in black pants, pressed white shirts, gray vests and green ties, meticulously polished the glassware for the Friday opening.
The result has been a set of on-again, off-again reopening and closing orders that have thrown hospitality owners — and their employees — into an emotional and financial tailspin. “In the past month we just wanted to not sink as fast, and now they’ve given us lead weight belts, so we’re in this constant state of sinking. I get there are these experts making these recommendations but my issue is if a certain industry bears the burden for society’s safety, society should be helping with that burden financially.”This week was an especially sobering one for restaurant and bar operators who just weeks ago began navigating a post-pandemic world of sharply reduced occupancies.
A hard stop on indoor dining and drinking will take an especially large toll on a sector of the economy that last year generated sales of more than $7.3 billion in San Diego County. While more restaurant and bar employees were returning to work in June, there were 56,000 fewer such jobs in May than a year earlier, said San Diego economist Kelly Cunningham.
“It’s become constant anxiety and stress, and those who can adapt and be nimble quickly can sustain their businesses but there are a lot of us who can’t,” said Tafazoli, who has only reopened a few of his 16 dining and drinking venues. “This virus is going to be with us for a while and if we can’t coexist in a consistent way, our industry is going to slowly decay and wither away.
Tuesday marks the sixth anniversary of the Rose, a 50-seat wine bar and bottle shop in South Park, but co-founders Chelsea Coleman and Rae Gurne haven’t found much to celebrate over the past few months.Not only has the pandemic slashed profits for the Rose, it has also jeopardized the future of the business partners’ long-anticipated second venture, Mabel’s Gone Fishing, an oyster and gin bar in North Park.
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