Reopening of dine-in service causes mixed emotions for Topeka restaurants

Scott Albrecht, manager of Hanover Pancake House, is happy but nervous.

After seeing the doors to his popular downtown Topeka restaurant closed for more than a month because of public health orders meant to limit spread of the coronavirus, Albrecht is pleased to once again serve up Hanover's specialties — everything from omelets and breakfast bowls to lunch specials and, of course, pancakes.

But Albrecht is quick to note one important caveat — he doesn't ever want to mix business with displeasure during this public health crisis.

“We want to make sure we are doing everything right as much as we can,” Albrecht said. “We don’t want to be a cause or problem for everybody else. We are doing what we can, we are reading all the rules we can find of what we have to do and what we need to do. So far, we are doing OK, we think.”

Hanover and numerous other local eateries reopened their dining rooms Monday with added precautionary measures laid out by Shawnee County's reopening plan.

Those opening their doors to the public have placed tape on booths and tables to eliminate close contact among patrons, limiting restaurant capacity.

While opening restaurants for dine-in may help alleviate the financial burden caused by an extended period of service limited to drive-thru, takeout and delivery, some restaurant managers like Albrecht still have concerns.

Hanover has limited the number of booths and tables where people can sit, removed all condiments and placed hand wipes at each table. Menus are wiped down after each use, and seating areas are sprayed down after a customer leaves.

The building’s capacity is about 200 people, Albrecht said, and with limited seating it can now hold about 115.

“We haven’t really got to put that to the test,” Albrecht said. “I don’t anticipate we will have to anytime soon, although this weekend is Mother’s Day, which is usually the busiest day of the year for us.”

Since opening its dining room Monday, business at Hanover has been fair.

“I think there is some people that are nervous about coming in, but (Monday) was a horrible day to test it with the storm that rolled through so I didn’t get too upset over yesterday,” Albrecht said. “(Tuesday) was a little better. Actually I think we had $100 more than yesterday.”

Albrecht said he has seen some of his regular customers coming to dine in, some of whom normally make an appearance on weekends.

Ralph and Ted Adams sat down in a booth Tuesday at Hanover Pancake House for the first time since the restaurant closed its dining room in March.

On the menu for the Adamses were a jalapeno BLT and a plate of jalapeno bacon and eggs.

“We are just glad to not have to go grab a sandwich and take it back to the office,” Ted Adams said. “It’s nice to sit and chat with somebody other than yourself.”

Ralph Adams said he isn’t concerned about going out to eat.

“I’m the only one of us two that should be concerned because I’m a little over the age,” Ralph Adams said. “I’ve always been really healthy and we usually keep our distance from people well enough. We aren’t concerned about it at all.”

Albrecht understands that not everyone is comfortable with coming inside, and he realizes the fear of infection runs deep for some.

“This Sunday, we had a gentleman who had a to-go order, called it in, wanted to do curbside,” Albrecht said. “(The waitress) took it out to the car and he said, ’No, set it in the parking stall.’ She set it down on the ground, walked away and he got out of the car and went to the trunk of his car, pulled out a scoop shovel, scooped it, carried the shovel and laid it in the trunk of the car. That’s fear.”

Stories like those have changed Albrecht’s perspective on how to operate a business in the middle of a global pandemic.

“Seeing that kind of fear in people, you’ve got to take this stuff seriously,” Albrecht said. “We will make up sanitization places where we can sanitize everything and we are keeping our eyes open for what else we need to do.”

Opening for dine-in has left Margarita’s Jalisco assistant manager Christian Panuco with mixed emotions as well.

“Personally, I’m relieved but at the same time I’m kind of skeptical about it,” Panuco said. “It still makes me anxious. But I am glad that we can finally get everyone back to working again.”

Panuco said the majority of the North Topeka restaurant’s employees have come back after being let go.

The Mexican restaurant has also limited seating to half of its 100-person capacity and wipes down menus after every use. Face masks have been provided to all employees, but they aren’t currently required to wear one.

Panuco said reopening the restaurant to its full capacity will be a process.

“It will probably be a while before we can fully get back on our feet again, but it will be worth it,” he said.

The Pennant, which operated via delivery, pickup and curbside before the stay-at-home order was lifted, is confident it can be a comfortable and safe place for patrons.

“What we know that people will be concerned about in returning is the fact that they are going to be around other people,” AIM Strategies marketing director Teryl Studebaker said. “That’s why we are taking such precautions, and honestly, now is probably the best time to visit the restaurant because they are so clean. We’ve hired cleaning services to come in and clean from top to bottom.”

The Pennant has also implemented a three-step cleaning process. A portion of the restaurant’s bar top has been divided into sections where employees can place items into categories of dirty, being cleaned and clean.

Studebaker said the biggest challenge The Pennant will face for the foreseeable future is not having the ability to bring all of its employees back to work.

“We are not going to be fully staffed for quite a while since we have to have all of our tables 6 feet apart,” Studebaker said. “That means our restaurant is really only running at 40 to 50% capacity.”