Some Fresno restaurants closing, but others see outpouring of support, $100 tips
Coronavirus has Fresnans sheltering in place and restaurants doing only takeout and delivery, leaving restaurant owners to brace for tough times.
A handful of restaurants and coffee shops in Fresno and Clovis have decided to shut their doors temporarily, with hopes of reopening when the COVID-19 crisis dies down.
That situation could worsen if the virus hits Fresno hard.
But there are also many restaurateurs who are amazed and grateful at an outpouring of support – and cash – from customers.
The closures
The list of restaurant closures as of Thursday wasn’t that long. Bars were already ordered closed by the cities of Fresno and Clovis.
Restaurant closings as of Thursday midday include:
- The Fresno Breakfast House and its bar, Tellawi Lounge.
- Richard’s Prime Rib & Seafood.
- Papa’s Place in Clovis.
- On a Roll Sushi (the sushi place inside Mezcal Lounge downtown, which has also suspended operations).
- Cravings, the hot dog and burger restaurant in Clovis.
- Viva! Be Bowl’d, a new bowl place in northeast Fresno.
- Kuppa Joy’s coffee shops (its drive-thrus, called Joy Thrus, are open).
- George’s Shish Kebab in The Galleria in downtown.
- Oriental Express in The Galleria.
- USBean Brew Station and Break Bread inside Bitwise South Stadium.
- Rocky Hill Brewing Grill & Tavern.
- Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Fresno. Other locations are open.
- India’s Oven in the Tower District, but its Ashlan and Marks avenues location is still open.
Some are small restaurants. Some are new. Some serve items that don’t lend themselves to takeout. Several are in downtown Fresno and depend upon downtown workers, many of whom are now working from home.
Not much call for takeout at Richard’s, Papa’s Place
The owner of Richard’s, a steakhouse that’s been open near downtown for 50 years, said his food – filet mignon and seafood, for example – doesn’t travel well.
Plus, he’s not a neighborhood restaurant, but one that people from all over the city come to for the experience of dining in the old-school dining room and bar, said owner Ben Stockle.
“I’m not really in a neighborhood so it’s not worth it for me to do to-go orders and takeout,” he said. “Doing six to eight to-go orders a day wouldn’t even be worth it. I didn’t even try.”
His 22 employees were coming in to pick up their last paychecks Thursday.
He hopes to reopen April 1.
In Clovis, Papa’s Place, inside the breezeway of the Dewitt building in Old Town Clovis, depends upon cocktails and a menu of mostly fried appetizers inspired by New Orleans.
Tuesday, it didn’t get a single takeout order and the owners decided to close the doors.
Business was already sluggish, said owner Julie Glenn, whose family also owns On The Edge coffee house and House of JuJu in Clovis.
“Papa’s Place is already really slow during the normal business (hours) except for when we have live music,” she said. “We already are kinda upside down. We’ve been putting money into it every pay period.”
About 40% of the business’ sales come from alcohol, which doesn’t lend itself to takeout.
On the Edge and House of JuJu are doing takeout orders and delivery through Doordash, and with curbside service available where customers don’t have to come into either restaurant.
Just eight of the 50 employees at House of JuJu are working on a typical shift, Glenn said. But she’s been wowed at the response from customers, who are promoting the business on social media. Some even offered to bring their own chairs to dine in because they thought it would be safer (but the city’s order doesn’t allow any dine in).
“The support we have gotten for On The Edge is overwhelming, even for JuJu’s it’s just been fantastic,” she said.
Viva! Be Bowl’d too new
Viva! Be Bowl’d is a 6-month-old restaurant at Cedar and Herndon avenues where everything is served in bowls. Word of the restaurant’s existence is still getting out there, so when sales dipped, owner Elsa Rodriguez Killion decided to close it.
“Yeah I had to close it because it’s just so new,” she said. “I’m still a baby.”
Her family also owns the restaurant next door, popular Mexican eatery Casa Corona.
The takeout sales there have been surprisingly healthy in recent days: “It’s like, ‘Whoa, this is doable,’” Rodriguez Killion said, adding that she’d consider reopening Viva in the future.
Still, Casa Corona is running with about 15 to 20 employees, mostly kitchen workers, out of its total staff of 65. Bartenders, bussers and other front-of-the-house employees aren’t working.
The upside
Chuck Van Fleet, president of the Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association, said many of his member restaurants were blown away by the generosity of customers who were turning out to support local restaurants.
“One guy went into one of the restaurants and bought $3,000 in gift cards,” he said.
Van Fleet has seen it firsthand at his restaurant, Vino Grille & Spirits.
“We’ve had people come in just hand me money. ‘Here’s $100. Make sure it helps your employees,’” they said to him.
Some were tipping $100 or $200 on a $50 takeout order.
Such generosity is happening among the staff, too, noted Glenn of House of JuJu. She’s watched her employees offer up what few shifts they had to other workers who had family to support.
“Everybody coming together is pretty incredible,” she said. “All this sucks, but we need to look at the good things that come out of it.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
The World Health Organization has officially declared the spread the novel coronavirus as a pandemic, and the virus is spreading in the United States, particularly on the West Coast.
Officials are urging people to take precautions to avoid getting sick, and to avoid spreading the disease including social distancing.
Click the drop-down icon in the upper right of this card for more information on symptoms and how to stop its spread.
What is coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children. But, this outbreak is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus that has spawned a new disease called COVID-19. This infection can cause a particularly harsh respiratory condition and can lead to death in older individuals and those with underlying health problems.
The CDC believes the COVID-19 virus spreads among humans by person-to-person contact, including via cough and sneezing. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people. Social distancing of 6ft is recommended for everyone.
For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms?
Corona means crown, and the virus has little spikes that help it attach to your respiratory system. Symptoms are similar to the flu and include congestion, coughing, shortness of breath and a runny nose. But, it can worsen causing pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.
How can I stop the spread of the coronavirus?
How does it spread?
We’re still learning about this infection. Things are changing constantly. The spread seems to be from bigger droplets, coughing, sneezing on your hands and then touching your eyes, your nose or mouth. The influenza virus can last on surfaces for 24 hours. For this virus, we are still learning how long it can last but it may be as long as 48 to 72 hours.
And what you can do to help stop the spread:
Practice social distancing, and definitely stay home if you’re ill. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and cover your coughs and sneezes.
If you develop symptoms similar to the coronavirus, you should stay home from work or school and avoid contact with others. It can take up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus to develop symptoms.
Taking precautions is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus. For more on how it spreads, watch this video.
Note: No public health agency has recommended that the general public wear masks to stave off infection. Here are more public health recommendations:
- Practice social distancing
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If you really can’t get to soap and water, then use a hand sanitizer that has at least 60 percent alcohol.
- Can’t wash your hands right away? Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes as these are areas where the pathogens can invade your body.
- Practice cough hygiene with covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, either using a disposable tissue or into your clothed elbow. Throw used tissues in the trash right away.
- If you are sick, stay at home. If you develop respiratory symptoms contact your doctor for advise and to determine if you need to go for care or viral testing. Call ahead before seeing medical care at a doctor’s office, clinic or emergency department, as they’ll need to separate you to help protect others.
- ChrisAnna Mink, Modesto Bee, and McClatchy staff
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 3:52 PM.
