Fresno restaurants were already struggling with coronavirus pandemic. Then a heat wave hit
First, the coronavirus pandemic shut down all but outdoor dining at restaurants in Fresno.
Then the thermometer hit 112 degrees.
When it’s this hot, people don’t go out to eat as much. And when their only option is dining outdoors, they do it even less.
Restaurants are coping with a double whammy of pain right now. The COVID-19 pandemic and all its associated headaches are combining with a drop off in business as temperatures climb.
The weekend is typically restaurants’ busiest time of the week, but the thermometer hit 107 and 112 last weekend.
“It hurt us bad,” said Jerry Yang, owner of Shobu Japanese Cuisine on Blackstone Avenue near Herndon Avenue.
“Obviously when the heat is so high, people just don’t feel like going out,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to go out either. Not even just for ordering out. I would rather just stay in my home and stay cool.”
The heat wave affected Shobu’s take-out business too. One day he got five orders through delivery services like Uber Eats and Grubhub. Normally, it’s double or triple that.
Shobu has other challenges too. It just opened in December and is still getting its name out there.
The restaurant has a small patio can seat 10 to 12 people with social distancing guidelines. And many of its foods, like ramen, sell better in cooler weather, though Yang’s hoping its sushi menu makes up for that.
“It’s scary,” he said. “I got bills to pay, I’ve got a family to feed, payments just like everybody else. It’s a scary time.”
With the forecast calling for plenty of 105s and 107s this week and into the weekend – along with the potential for rolling blackouts – the squeeze on restaurants shows no signs of easing anytime soon.
It’s also not clear when the restrictions on indoor dining will end. Fresno County is adding an average of almost 390 new cases of people infected with coronavirus each day, with 206 deaths since the pandemic started.
Yosemite Falls Cafe’s four locations have added tables and tents in parking lots, some with misters.
Another restaurant run by the same owner, High Sierra Grill at Bullard and West avenues, is closed indefinitely because it doesn’t have a patio and gets full sun all day. Owner Manny Perales isn’t sure yet if he’ll reopen it or not.
The restaurants where he has expanded outdoor dining have a lot of regulars who are older, he said.
“The heat radiates right from the asphalt. It’s very uncomfortable for our employees and our guests,” he said. “Asking senior citizens who rely on restaurants because they don’t cook anymore to sit outside when it’s 110 degrees, it’s just unacceptable.”
Last weekend, business was about 35% of a normal pre-pandemic weekend, Perales said. He called some employees and told them not to come in. Others got sent home early.
The restrictions on restaurants, combined with the heat, are frustrating, he said. Especially when he sees people flocking to beaches, lakes and having outdoor gatherings.
“There’s hundreds of people in big-box stores, (but) people keep picking on the restaurants,” he said. “It just baffles me.”
Some do OK
But not every restaurant suffers in the heat.
It wasn’t enough to keep customers of BC’s Pizza & Beer in Clovis away last weekend, said owner Kirk Sommers.
The business already has a lot of shade and added extra tables, tents and huge swamp coolers.
“As long as you’re sitting in the shade with the swamp cooler on you, it’s not bad at all,” he said. We had a good amount out business all weekend.”
The restaurant also does “a ton” of beer sales, filling up growlers and other containers customers bring in. And pizza sales have done better than other types of food during this pandemic because they are easy to take home.
“I feel bad for a lot of other businesses out there. It’s hit them a lot harder just because their food doesn’t transport as easy,” Sommers said. “We’re all in this together.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 10:29 AM.
