By Heather Haddon
Restaurant chains are setting long-term plans to keep dining
rooms open whenever and wherever possible as the coronavirus
pandemic shows no sign of relenting.
McDonald's Corp., Starbucks Corp. and other chains are serving
customers inside, in line with safety standards they say they have
honed during roughly nine months of grappling with the virus.
Executives say they see an immediate boost in sales when dining
rooms reopen.
However, with Covid-19 cases rising to new heights, these chains
and other restaurant owners are closing some dining rooms again now
where officials have instructed them to do so. Illinois suspended
indoor dining statewide on Wednesday, while a two-week stay-at-home
order imposed by El Paso, Texas, through Nov. 11 has shut dining
rooms.
McDonald's and Starbucks say they aren't shutting dining rooms
across the board this time. Instead they are fine-tuning plans that
they say allow them to serve customers inside safely, even as the
virus continues to circulate across the U.S.
McDonald's said it has told U.S. franchisees they may reopen
dining rooms when coronavirus cases fall locally for three
consecutive weeks.
Starbucks executives said in October that reopening cafes with
spaced-out tables and enhanced cleaning protocols has boosted
sales. "When we opened the cafe for limited seating, the response
is immediate, " Starbucks Chief Executive Kevin Johnson said.
Some chains, including Wingstop Inc., have decided to keep
dining rooms closed, reflecting the quandary facing restaurants --
and other companies -- operating in uncertain and fluctuating
circumstances. From manufacturers to malls, businesses are
overhauling their operations to keep operating during a global
pandemic. As Covid-19 cases climb again, companies are revisiting
their recently developed policies and procedures, and changing them
as needed.
Health experts say that while restaurants can take steps to
reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus inside, takeaway service
and outdoor dining remain safer.
"I recommend against indoor dining," said Thomas Russo, chief of
the infectious diseases division at the University at Buffalo's
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The lack of widespread contact tracing in the U.S. has made it
difficult to determine whether restaurants are facilitating the
spread of the coronavirus, but federal and state studies indicate
some connection. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
survey in September found that people who tested positive for
Covid-19 were about twice as likely to have dined at a restaurant
within a two-week period as people who tested negative for the
virus.
The virus thrives in enclosed spaces, and eating in a restaurant
exposes diners to close contact with other people for extended
periods while they are talking and not wearing masks, scientists
say. Ventilation, air-purification systems and well-spaced tables
can help but won't eliminate the dangers of indoor dining as cases
rise, said Dr. Russo of the University of Buffalo.
Casual-dining chains including Cheesecake Factory Inc., Texas
Roadhouse Inc. and BJ's Restaurants Inc. have installed glass
partitions to maximize socially distanced dining space. The
dividers are more permanent than plexiglass separators, and cost
millions of dollars across dozens of restaurants. California-based
BJ's Restaurants told investors last month that the partitions
allow it to add a dozen more tables into service in a location
while abiding by social-distancing regulations.
Bloomin' Brands Inc. Chief Executive David Deno said the Outback
Steakhouse owner is investing in equipment and training to protect
customers. "I don't mean to make light of things, but they love
coming back into our businesses and enjoy eating out," Mr. Deno
said in an interview.
Operators say keeping dining rooms open becomes more important
to their businesses as temperatures fall across much of the U.S.,
making outdoor spaces that helped sales in the summer less
tenable.
The number of open restaurants and bars is declining in states
with falling temperatures and rising cases, including Illinois,
Michigan and Ohio, according to labor scheduling-software company
Homebase. Dining reservations have plateaued or fallen in many
states in the past month, data from online-booking platform
OpenTable shows.
Many restaurants are struggling to keep afloat amid regulations
requiring them to limit the number of customers eating inside or
close indoor dining entirely. The National Restaurant Association
projects that at least 100,000 restaurants will close this year,
about double the typical annual rate. The trade association wants
officials to take into account the efficacy of spaced-out tables,
air-purification systems and other safety measures before banning
indoor dining.
McDonald's kept most of its dining rooms closed this year as
Burger King and others continue to add back indoor service. Around
2,000 of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are serving customers
in dining rooms, the company said.
McDonald's said it doesn't expect a flood of reopenings given
the rise in Covid-19 cases. "We aren't rushing to reopen dining
rooms just to make a couple extra bucks," Bill Garrett, McDonald's
U.S. senior vice president of operations, said in an interview.
But while McDonald's U.S. sales have bounced back with largely
just drive-through, pickup and delivery sales, dining rooms are
still an important source of revenue. McDonald's executives put a
big focus on improving the chain's indoor dining before the
pandemic through amenities such as digital kiosks and table
service. Many U.S. franchisees spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars on the upgrades, and the company also funded part of the
cost.
McDonald's executives told U.S. franchisees in late September
that they could resume reopening dining rooms if cases were
declining in their jurisdiction, based on state and county data,
and local regulations allowed for in-person dining. The company
said it was taking into account feedback from consumers and
employees on the prospect of dine-in service. Play areas will
remain closed.
It is up to franchisees whether they decide to reopen, and many
McDonald's franchisees say they are generating strong sales without
dining-room service.
Tracy Johnstone, owner of seven McDonald's restaurants in
Florida that have remained closed to dine-in customers for much of
the pandemic, said she has grown accustomed to just serving
customers to-go. "It is just part of doing business responsibly,"
she said.
Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 08, 2020 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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