Restaurants starving for business because of COVID-19 restrictions received an injection of hope with the recent start of vaccinations, but having a base of loyal customers has provided an early inoculation from pandemic damage, according to one local ownership family.

Gratitude for faithful customers marks the attitude of Texas Hot Dogs’ Dane Lamont, after nine months of struggling with coronavirus restrictions — while for other owners, the pandemic has given birth to resentment, resignation, creativity, concern for employees and even a recognition that sometimes terrible things have benefits.

“We have a nice set of regulars that seem to come in, rain or shine,” Lamont said of his customers. “Other restaurants have not built up that kind of clientele, and things are tough for them.”

Many employees in the Lamont family’s two locations know their customers’ names, Lamont said.

Employees at one location begin preparing the order of one of those customers before he gets out of his car, Lamont said.

His restaurants are the kind that patrons visited as children and that became “embedded in their DNA,” Lamont said.

Those customers tend to find a way to keep in touch even when the service is necessarily compromised, as with COVID-19, according to Lamont.

His restaurants have been following “all the safety protocols,” Lamont said. “We take them very seriously.”

The organization has increased online ordering of meals and of frozen chili sauce, sending the sauce to many distant locations, he said.

Doing well until now

Tom & Joe’s Diner was doing well — almost at pre-pandemic levels — until recently, according to owner George Batrus.

Then, just before Thanksgiving, the Wolf administration closed down indoor dining — and “that’s when everything hit,” Batrus said.

He’s not “at all OK” about the situation, Batrus said.

The state has unfairly targeted restaurants, he said in a phone interview Saturday.

“Go to the boulevard today,” he said. “Every retail store you can imagine is packed to the gills.”

He cited contact tracing data in New York City that showed that between September and November, restaurants and bars that were limited to 25% occupancy accounted for only 1.4% of infections.

That shows that targeting restaurants isn’t fair, he said.

But according to state Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, speaking recently in a news conference, many studies have shown that bars and restaurants indeed are major infection sources.

Contact tracing, at least in Pennsylvania in recent times, isn’t able to show that, however, because cases are too numerous, and have forced investigators and tracers to focus on high-priority patients and contacts, mainly those who are vulnerable, especially those in congregate settings, Levine said.

When the state initially issued its pre-Thanksgiving order, Batrus ignored it, he said.

But on Friday, after someone reported that indoor dining was taking place at Tom & Joe’s, a state Department of Agriculture representative visited and said the restaurant needed to shut down or the department would issue a specific closure order, Batrus said.

So he closed.

Other area restaurants have continued to operate, even though they have been reported, and the department hasn’t visited them, Batrus said.

“I can choose to ignore (the department’s) order,” he said. “But I just don’t know what will come down the pike if I do.”

The order expires Jan. 4, and he would be closed for two of the days until then anyway, he said.

His concern now, though, is what will happen when the current shutdown period ends, he said.

If the state extends the closure order, he’ll “re-evaluate what to do,” he said.

His customers are upset, he said.

“They don’t think it’s right,” he stated.

His tables are six feet apart, and every other booth is closed, he said.

He’s not aware of any infections originating in his restaurant.

Even if one had, he’s not sure he should feel responsible, he said.

After all, Gov. Tom Wolf, who evidently has been “by the book” on mitigations, became infected anyway, he said.

“It’s everywhere,” Batrus said of the virus.

Villa Capri has lost lots of businesses, said owner Vinnie Scolaro.

“I try the best I can to keep open,” Scolaro said.

Everything now is take-out, he said.

“I don’t have any choice,” he said. “I don’t know what I can say.”

Chains affected too

“It’s a big challenge for the entire industry,” said Greg Dubois, regional operations director for Primanti Bros.

But restaurants have “got to adapt,” he said.

Primanti’s has done that by emphasizing takeout and delivery, launching a curbside delivery option, partnering with third-party vendors and providing “aggressive specials” — including buy-one, get-one-free opportunities, Dubois said.

The pandemic isn’t a threat to the chain’s existence, he said.

“We’ll manage through this,” he said. “We’ve got some great leadership and great products.”

But could any chain survive “like this forever?” he asked rhetorically. “Probably not.”

When the state limited restaurants to 50% capacity indoors, everyone at Primanti’s remained employed, Dubois said.

Now, with indoor dining gone, about 80% of the employees are gone, he said.

“It’s hard to lay off people around the holidays,” he said.

Still, they can collect unemployment, and the company has issued checks for paid time off and is covering insurance, he said.

Some of the employees have had to find new jobs, but most want to come back, he said.

Diverting to takeout

Lena’s Cafe has also diverted its energy to take-out, according to manager Karen Reilly.

“We’ve filled our freezers with pastas, soups, desserts, sauces,” she said. “Stuffed shells, lasagna, all kinds of goodies.”

“That’s carrying us,” she stated. “People love it.”

As with Texas Hot Dogs, such people tend to be regulars.

“They’ve been faithful,” Reilly said. “They want to have their Lena’s.”

Still, they’re disappointed they can’t come in, she said.

“They miss the whole atmosphere,” she said.

The restaurant has been trying to get all of its employees some time on the “to go” line, she said.

Some are collecting partial unemployment compensation, she said.

None of them have caught the virus so far, though, she said.

Everyone has been careful, Reilly said.

She wasn’t surprised by the pre-Thanksgiving shutdown, and actually figured it would happen sooner.

“It’s just been a year,” Reilly said. “Everyone’s not surprised by anything anymore.”

The coronavirus has been challenging for Hungry Howie’s — but with a difference, according to owner Michael Butters.

“If you just look at the sales standpoint, it’s helped us,” he said.

Sales have been up because the restaurant only offered takeout and delivery in the first place.

“We have that nailed down,” he said.

By contrast, traditional restaurants had to “recreate the wheel to keep up,” he said.

Unfortunately, though, much of his added revenue went for personal protective equipment and other COVID-19 protections, he said.

Prices of supplies also rose, although not always with justification, he said.

“Had my costs not gone up, it would have been very profitable,” Butters said.

Unfortunately also, the pandemic led to employment difficulties for him, as parents of the youths told their children to quit, for fear of COVID-19, Butters said.

The employment situation has stabilized though, based on society’s wider knowledge about the virus, he said.

“Hey, you can’t stop life,” he said.

Mirror Staff Writer

William Kibler is at 949-7038.