Avram Hornik shares those concerns.
The restaurateur, who owns Morgan’s Pier and Craft Hall and runs Parks on Tap, said there seems to be many ideas of safety protocols floating around, but no concrete guidance yet.
“We really need the public health officials to kind of talk through what the risks are so that we as restaurant owners can decide what procedures work for the staff and our style of service to meet those public health needs,” he said.
Related
Hornik, however, is thinking ahead, since Philadelphia and most of southeastern Pennsylvania have not been given the go-ahead to cautiously move from the “red” to “yellow” phase in Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan.
Still, he noted, these preparations take time.
“Are they going to have to buy new furniture? Are they going to have to train their staff? Are they going to have to order PPE?” he questioned. “Do we need to have a log of every visitor so that they can do contact tracing? Do we need to do fever checks?”
To keep social distancing measures in place, restaurants will have to get creative, particularly if they have to reduce capacity.
“It's going to be really hard without some major innovation and major changes in the way restaurants operate to be able to pay their employees and their rent until this is over,” he added.
Hornik has heard talk of potentially utilizing outdoor spaces like parks, empty lots, open streets and parking spaces for al fresco dining.
“Certainly the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association has been very active on this issue,” he said. “I know the BIDs — the Business Improvement District — heads in Center City, they also have been pushing this idea of outdoor dining and have proposals around this.
“They should allow restaurants — with permission, of course — to put dining there and kind of waive any kind of zoning requirement and any kind of non-safety permitting.”
Overall, Hornik’s main concern is still public health and safety.
“My reaction is to start planning for the future, but we don't know what the future is going to be.”