Restaurants open back up for indoor seating

By Ruben Lowman and Andrea Maestre

Restaurants and bars are allowed to resume indoor seating this week as Gov. Henry McMaster lifted the restrictions he put in place nearly two months ago to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

This followed up the governor’s easing of restrictions last week, when he permitted restaurants to open their doors to diners but limited them to outdoor seating only. His previous executive orders had restricted restaurants to only offering delivery, curbside or take-out service.

For Sarah Arnold, owner of the Tidewater Grill located across from the Swing Bridge, acclimating to the social distancing restrictions the state has operated under since mid-March has been demanding but necessary.

“It’s been a surreal experience that none of us ever expected in this lifetime,” she said. “It definitely challenges you as a business owner, but I think we came out of it stronger and more knowledgeable with what we need to do to protect ourselves and other people through it, despite the adversity of it.”

Ken Norcutt, chef and owner of SeaBlue Restaurant & Wine Bar on Highway 17, shared that he and his wife have pretty much stuck to the same routine they had before the coronavirus outbreak, but the loss of sales they have encountered has been difficult to deal with.

“SeaBlue never shut down, we stayed and we did curbside through it all, so Tracy and I as the owners have been here every day,” he said. “So our lives haven’t really changed all that much personally on a day-to-day basis. But definitely the sales slowed down, the revenue end of the business has been impacted tremendously.”

Norcutt elaborated on the financial limitations that the shutdown of the economy has placed on his ability to operate his restaurant, noting that he and his wife have not made any income over the past few months.

“We didn’t want to get behind on any bills or rent, so we tried to pay as much as we could during that time and do some take-out and that was successful.” He continued, “We were able to sort of break even with what staff we had on and our rent, electricity and normal bills. I couldn’t pay a full staff and we haven’t taken a paycheck.”

Both the Tidewater Grill and SeaBlue stayed open throughout the shutdown, offering curbside and take-out service to those loyal customers that continued to frequent the restaurants. Both are resuming indoor dining this week.

Arnold says she supports the restrictions being loosened based on the current state of the economy, but is concerned about the dangers that reopening businesses prematurely could present to public health.

“I feel, as a business owner, it’s one of the things that you have to do but from a human standpoint it might be a little too soon,” she said. “But you kind of have to adapt to the world around you as best as you can.”

Norcutt highlighted the impact the shutdown has had on his employees and the difficulties that the increased unemployment benefits presents to business owners looking to bring their staff back.

“I think the biggest impact has been on the employees, as they were pretty much immediately laid off when we closed,” he said. “And the biggest challenge is getting them to come back, since with the extra $600 it’s a balancing act of how much are they going to make for their families, with here being probably slow to start off with.”

Governor McMaster outlined that restaurants would be open for indoor seating, but with several restrictions still in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Tables will need to be spaced six to eight feet apart and can seat eight people or less only, all surfaces customers come in contact with should be sanitized frequently and the strict social distancing guidelines already in place will have to be maintained.

Arnold said that her staff is focusing on adhering to the guidelines laid out by the governor, and that she has added a new cleaning station to help streamline the sanitizing process for her employees.

“We’re following all of the safety guidelines put forth by DHEC, so we have put in a sanitation station, we’re sanitizing all of the common use areas by the public on a half-hour basis and we are doing our best to socially distance our people.” She continued, “We’re following the 50 percent (capacity) guidelines as well as sanitizing after each use pretty much any chair, booth, anything that would be touched.”

She believes that one positive that could come from this crisis is if restaurants continue to place an increased emphasis on their cleanliness standards, something she feels is necessary.

“I also think going forward it will help restaurants for the better, recognizing where they need to be more vigilant in their cleaning, which probably needs to happen overall in the industry,” Arnold said.

Norcutt explained how SeaBlue has kept strict hygiene standards by limiting the amount of employees working and making sure they haven’t traveled, and closely monitoring their health for any signs of illness or symptoms. He added that out of caution for customers and staff they have only brought back employees who live more locally, as the amount of positive COVID-19 cases has been much higher further south along the Grand Strand.

“We have everything from the social distancing six feet, we have hand sanitizers at the door, we have the signs at the front door saying do not enter if you are sick, have a cough, fever, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “We’re making sure our staff is not sick. We interviewed them and made sure they haven’t been out of state or traveled while they were away.

Norcutt continued, “We really have minimal staff back right now and they’re the ones that have been here the whole time working with us. I really kept the staff only in the North Myrtle Beach and Little River area. I haven’t recalled anyone from the South Myrtle area yet because their cases down there were a lot higher than in the North Myrtle Beach and Little River area.”

Norcutt understands the hesitancy some people will have in venturing back out, and stressed that if anyone is feeling sick or uncomfortable they should stay home and come back when they feel the time is right.

“They just lifted the restrictions so I think some people are probably watching the news and the data and numbers and seeing if cases spike or if there are a bunch of tourists in town, so on and so forth,” he said.

“So I think people are being cautious a little bit. We definitely have the outdoor dining now so we can really space people out. We’re just trying to make people feel as comfortable as possible and show them we’re being safe,” Norcutt concluded.