Local Restaurants vs. COVID-19: Stories From the Front Lines

As Austin Restaurants slowly reopen, they have found the challenges have been far greater than restaffing, reestsblishing relationships with vendors, reaching out to customers and rethinking menus.

It has come down to one battle where the lines have been clearly drawn. There is literally a war being fought between restaurants and a vicious unseen enemy. And the stakes have never been higher.

We’ll take a look at some local restaurants and see how they are combatting COVID-19.

III Forks GM Brian Kelley has literally reconfigured the interior with an emphasis on social distancing. Booths have been taken down to allow rooms for additional tables which can be appropriately spaced.

Touch spaces and surfaces are constantly sanitized. Servers wear gloves and masks which are frequently changed during the course of an evening.
Every hour rest rooms are closed for 15 minutes to give employees a chance to thoroughly clean the space.

Surfaces in the kitchen are also constantly cleaned, and cooks wear gloves and then also remove the gloves and wash their hands.

I asked Kelley about how that was going given that cooks and chefs have a penchant for stubbornness. He assured me that they are professionals and are handling the “new” normal quite well.

On another front, servers who report for work have to have temperature checks. 100.4 is the cutoff point at which they are asked to go home. They also have to fill out a brief questionnaire which details their health and recent contact they may have had with anyone who had tested positive for COVID-19. But Kelley points out that most servers have been monitoring their health at home and only two have been sent home after reporting for work.

At the popular Pizza Cave on Highway 290 West near Dripping Springs, owner Joe Cave has been equally vigorous in keeping his place thoroughly clean. Employees are temperature checked upon arrival all and all surfaces are frequently sanitized. Gloves and masks are the rule for servers and and all kitchen staff. Tables have been spaced and parties of four or more are encouraged to split up into two groups.

“We are totally serious about what we do here” said Cave. “This about the lives of our customers and staff and there is absolutely no room for compromise.”

So there you have the perspectives from two popular restaurants: one downtown and one in the suburbs. Their work in the battle against COVID-19 has allowed customers the opportunity to resume some semblance of their normal dining habits while feeling safe at the restaurants.

And safety is the primary focus of other Austin restaurants as well. Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q has followed vigorous health rules at all five of their stores as have all three Chinatown restaurants and Freda’s Seafood Grille.

Even further out in Spicewood It’s All Good BBQ has been meticulous in assuring the safety of their customers. Owner Dale Wleczyk has left no stone unturned in innovating additional health safeguards.

So there’s a look at how the battle against COVID-19 is being fought by dozens of area restaurants. They care! And customers should reward them by patronizing all their favorite restaurants.