What I fear most for the restaurant industry is people like me.
I am not ready to dine out.
I doubt I am alone.
I sincerely hope, though, that my hesitation is shared only by a small fraction of potential customers throughout Connecticut.
Restaurants are in a brutally difficult spot, already hamstrung by a shutdown of more than two months, some of them shuttered for good, just about all of them having to lay off waves of workers, a truly depressing snapshot of the economic destruction this pandemic has wrought.
Those that remain, though, and those that were ready, reopened for business Wednesday with limited seating, outdoor-only dining and a bevy of safety protocols in place.
These businesses have been made to operate at reduced capacity by government guidelines.
They might, for the foreseeable future, operate at a further reduced capacity for a reliance on the public’s interest in actually showing up.
I’m not interested. Not yet.
Maybe that will change on a whim tomorrow. Or in a few weeks when we learn a great deal about the health and economic outcomes of Gov. Ned Lamont’s lifting of some restrictions. Or sometime this summer when I feel like we have a tighter grip on COVID-19. Or next year.
I really don’t know.
I know this, though: What struck me as I drove around Greater Hartford on Wednesday, taking in scenes of people having lunch on restaurant patios, is that it looked like an activity I’d rather just avoid for now.
The manufactured spaciousness. The signs about safety measures. The servers in masks and gloves. The general awkwardness of it all. One visual after another, really, to remind us that this operation is taking place amid circumstances we can only partially manage.
Call me paranoid. The odds of actually contracting this coronavirus are extremely minimal for most people and contracting it in an outdoor setting even more so.
And, yes, I’ve essentially become a hermit since March 10, content to wait this out with extreme caution, ordering grocery delivery, hardly ever leaving home. That’s what has felt right … for me. I know others are more comfortable getting back to a certain way of life and that’s terrific … for them.
I wholeheartedly support the reopening of restaurants, hope they all flourish and have confidence in business owners doing all they can to provide a safe environment. But the bottom line — again for me, for now — is that eating out should be a truly relaxing experience and I just don’t see how it can be.
I don’t want anyone carrying my food and drinks around right now. I don’t want anyone touching my fork or my plate. I don’t know how respectful we’ll all be of social distancing and other mandates, of one another. I’ll just let this play a while longer.
When I sit at that outside table later in the month, or in that booth or at that bar this summer or whenever, I want to do so with complete peace of mind, not having to consider much more than the the company I’m enjoying and menu choices I’m making.
I miss restaurants, of course. I miss the Mole Poblano Nachos at Republic in Bloomfield, good beers on tap and tremendous tacos at Lucky Taco in Manchester, a perfect Manhattan and a large pie at Tunxis Grill & Pizzeria near our home in Windsor. I miss the sights and sounds and hustle and bustle of a crowded dining room on a weekend night, the overlapping laughter, servers coming and going.
We all love to eat out.
None of us need to.
But the painful twist is that restaurant owners and workers do need us to. People must want to visit their places of business in order for them to get their livelihood back. I hope enough people are already set to show up, with more as time passes.
It’s an imperfect science, one’s desire or ability to partake in certain activities. I’m ready for a haircut, for instance. In and out of the barbershop when they open. I’m not ready to sit around a restaurant for an hour and a half.
I’m not suggesting people should be in line with my opinion or follow my lead. I’m just thinking out loud and acknowledging that there could be some damaging reluctance that follows this reopening. Health concerns aside, even, consumer confidence and disposable income are potential issues.
This weekend should provide a much better gauge for how people will act toward this lift on restrictions. Friday, Saturday, Sunday … those are the days people will have circled for a return to their favorite restaurant.
It’s impossible to know much about how the public feels after one Wednesday of breakfast, lunch and dinner destinations free to serve anything on the menu outside in the breeze.
I just know how I feel.
That I’m ready to stay in and cook for myself a while longer.
Go out and do your thing, Connecticut, and do it right. Get your favorite appetizer. Dessert, too. Get full. Tip well. Be safe. Be smart.
I’ll be out there soon. Maybe.
Courant columnist Mike Anthony can be reached at manthony@courant.com.
