OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) - For the last several weeks, Owensboro-area restaurants have had to shut down dining rooms and switch primarily to curbside service, pick-up windows and delivery. Though their profits are down, local owners are starting to see what their businesses will look like for the foreseeable future - and taking steps to ensure they’ll still be around when the coronavirus pandemic is over.
“For the most part, I think we’re doing pretty good,” said Old Hickory Bar-B-Q owner John Foreman. “During the week, we’re running at about 70%, the weekends are about 65%. We’re holding our own and doing the best we can.”
Old Hickory already had a pick-up window, but now when the number of waiting cars builds up, employees go down the line taking orders ahead of time to keep things moving briskly.
Foreman has also had to consider how much food to prepare ahead of time, since the demand changes from day to day.
“It took a couple weeks to adjust,” he said, “but I feel like, so far, we figured out what to do, what to cook. It’s starting to get nicer and starting to pick up a little bit.
“As long as people keep coming, which we hope they do, we think we’re gonna come through it. I can’t say that we’re making money, but we’re staying afloat.”
According to Real Hacienda Mexican Restaurant owner Armando Ortiz, the key has been staying flexible and making adjustments each day.
“We are very blessed,” Ortiz said. “It’s not as busy as it normally is, but we are doing OK. Despite conditions, we have about 60 to 70% of employees working.”
One advantage, Ortiz added, is that the new guidelines allow him to sell alcohol - in closed containers - for customers to take home. Otherwise, he’s working through the same struggles as everyone else
“We will continue to do what they allow us to do,” Ortiz said, “and we will do our best to do it right, as long as our supply chain keeps going.
“We are open and very fortunate. It is an opportunity to leave home and go to work. I know a lot of people can’t do that right now.”
For Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn owner Pat Bosley, one of the biggest struggles is finding mutton and pork distributors that can still regularly deliver product.
As a result, he’s trimmed down the menu as the restaurant - which now offers curbside service for the first time and still allows customers to carry out food from the lobby - works to find its footing.
“The other challenge is not just sourcing food, but knowing how much to keep on hand,” Bosley said. “You’re trying to balance that with predicting sales in this new business model. In some ways, it’s like starting a new business.”
For the time being, Moonlite is operating with 50 employees instead of the normal 125. Without tourism dollars - 50% of the restaurant’s total business - and events like the International Bar-B-Q Festival or ROMP Fest to count on, Bosley estimates another six months of similar results before drastic changes have to be made.
“One of the blessings we have is we’ve been here a while, we run the business well, we own the property and we weren’t upside-down before this started,” Bosley said. “We were in about the best situation we could be, going into this. Still, it’s a significant blow.
“But I’m blessed in a bad situation. I’ve been blessed with good health, good employees and good customers. Everyone’s bought in, and they’ve been really understanding through this process.”
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