Getting Back to a Normal Restaurant Environment
By: John Ziehl
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought upon challenging experiences for almost everyone in the last year and a half. As society tries to keep moving forward, a lot has happened during that time. While most can say they had to endure some tough times, restaurant owners have assuredly been impacted significantly.
With the pandemic still ongoing, restaurant owners have felt frustrations over managing to stay afloat while experiencing shutdowns, mask mandates, limited capacity seating, and much more. With the colder weather slowly approaching and the Delta variant still proving to be a threat, many people that work in the industry will have to endure another winter with the pandemic going on.
Many restrictions have lightened up ever since vaccinations have become more accessible to the public, but restaurants endured months of regulations just to keep their doors open. “We could only sit half of the dining room every night and had to make sure all of the tables were six feet apart,” said Diego Dorronsoro, a waiter at Darby O’Gills in Hyde Park. “With less tables in the dining room, it gave us the opportunity to utilize our outdoor space for dining more.” While surviving difficult times, there have been some positives that have come out of this. “I really enjoy that we are utilizing the outdoor seating more,” said Daniel Paez, a waiter at Darby’s.
“We also created a new method to clean and I think it’s a lot better this way.” With everyone just struggling to make the best of their situation, it seems like Dorronsoro, Paez and the rest of the staff at Darby’s have been making the most of the situation. With the Delta variant still spreading, the wait staff expressed concerns of possibly going back to stricter restrictions and with the winter impending, their outdoor space may not be advantageous to them anymore.
Another result the pandemic has had on restaurants is the increase on pickup and mobile to-go orders. For many people being inside a restaurant is still a very real health threat, the utilization of ordering food to go has helped those who are not yet comfortable going out an opportunity to still eat food from their favorite restaurants. “We have seen more takeout orders than ever before,” said Fritz Gale, server and delivery boy for Mike and Joe’s Brick Oven Pizza and Italian Restaurant. “Even now that regulations are not as intense, we still see a large amount of to-go orders everyday.”
The convenience of being able to order online or by telephone and not have to leave the house is an extra precaution to ensure one’s safety. “I actually prefer not having to leave my house, but still be able to have my favorite meals delivered right to my door,” said a resident in the area, Devin. “It works well that I can still order from my favorite restaurants, but do not have to go outside and risk exposure to anyone that might be sick.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a lot of hard times. While we may not be completely back to normal yet, it is good to see local businesses are feeling a sense of normalcy again, while the residents of Poughkeepsie are still able to enjoy their favorite foods from the area.
