*Zenbarn on Guptil Road in Waterbury Center is one of the first local restaurants to take advantage of new regulations to allow for outside covered areas for dining. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti.*

Like many restaurants across Vermont in the past few weeks, Waterbury’s Prohibition Pig and Hen of the Wood have welcomed patrons back to their dining rooms at half capacity as they follow a slew of new public health rules.

But as veteran chef-owner Eric Warnstedt surveys early July reservations and takeout business, he’s looking further down the road.

“It is going to be awful. We will use grants and loans to get us through to next spring. We don’t imagine things going too well once we have to close the patios up,” he said in an interview this week.

Warnstedt, like many other restaurant owners, describes these last few months of scaled-back business due to the COVID-19 pandemic as being really tough. His eateries here along with Doc Ponds in Stowe and Hen of the Wood in Burlington offered occasional takeout while closed for in-house dining. They all recently opened when state restrictions were lifted although the requirement to not exceed 50% capacity is a serious limitation, slowing down business tremendously.

Outdoor seating at Prohibition Pig's Elm Street brewery lends itself to new public health guidelines. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti.

His friend and colleague Mark Frier, an owner of the Reservoir Restaurant & Taproom a few doors up Main Street from Pro Pig, sums it up: “We have a big challenge in front of us for the entire industry, trying to navigate what is safe and what we can do to do business within the rulebook put in front of us by the state.”

The Reservoir reopened on June 29, and has increased the amount of outdoor seating to create a safer dining environment, Frier said, as well as to gain back some of the seating lost indoors due to requirements for spacing.

“We are excited to be back open but it is a struggle every day to understand if we can be profitable at all and how long we can last. We have been doing a lot of takeout which is good, but it is a different world right now,” he said.

In addition to his role at The Reservoir, Frier is busy as an owner of two Stowe restaurants, Tres Amigos and The Bench, and he’s a member of the Waterbury Select Board which has taken several steps recently with local businesses – and restaurants in particular – in mind.

In June, the board amended a local ordinance to allow restaurants to erect tents, if they have enough room on their property, as a way to add or expand outdoor seating. Frier and Warnstedt’s downtown restaurants both already had outdoor tables with a little room to expand, but neither have a large spot for a big tent and both are wary of the effort that might involve.

“We are seeing how our new outdoor space goes. If we get quite a bit of weather that stops us from seating those then we will definitely consider it, but again it is hard to make those kinds of investments when you are already struggling to just make bills,” Frier said.

Warnstedt agreed. “Maybe at the brewery, but we haven’t made that decision yet,” he said.

McGillicuddy's has worked to keep business going with takeout and now in-house dining, including its porch along Main Street. Staff ask patrons to call ahead either way. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti.

Their neighbors at McGillicuddy’s Irish Pub don’t have any space for a tent either, but they’re happy to welcome customers back inside and on their deck after relying solely on takeout business from March to June.

“Things are pretty good, but we could be busier,” said Dave Nelson, owner of the Waterbury pub and its sister establishments in Williston, Colchester and Essex Junction.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Nelson said he strived to keep McGillicuddy’s open. “We have stayed open every day since the governor declared that nobody could go inside. We stayed open every day for takeout, and the community response was heartwarming and tremendous. The community was incredible, generous to our staff, and thanked us for staying open,” he said. “One of the reasons we did stay open was to maintain our staff, we didn’t want to lose contact with them or our customers.”

Now with summer in full swing, McGillicuddy’s has resumed inside dining. “We are back open fifty-percent on the inside. We are open every day. And we are open for outside dining.”

A short drive up Route 100 in Waterbury Center, Zenbarn is making a go of it with limited capacity inside dining and tables under a tent outside. Their to-go business also established a following during the shutdown and it continues. A handful of tables in the shade under the tent had diners Friday evening. The restaurant recently got approval for occasional live music outside in addition to some small-scale indoor performances.

Further up Rt. 100, Michael’s on the Hill is finding their patrons more interested in venturing out to book a table in the dining room rather than pick up food to go. “We are doing pretty well. Doing pretty good takeout. We would always like to do more, but I think we are finding that now that we are open for dine-in, people would prefer to come eat at the restaurant,” said owner Laura Kloeti.

With multiple inside rooms for dining, Michael’s isn’t looking to add a tent outside anytime soon, Kloeti said. “We would have to use our parking lot area and that wouldn’t work with our space in general.”

Kloeti summed up what many local business owners are discovering as they reopen for diners or shoppers or regular clients: “We can’t do anything like the business we used to do,” she said, explaining, for example, that Michael’s before relied on parties for a large part of their business. “We aren’t doing any events now.”

Because Waterbury’s restaurant community is diverse in geography and real estate, no one new creative solution will work for everyone and the tent option is a good example.

Waterbury’s Economic Development Director Alyssa Johnson said she’s continuing to talk with restaurant owners about other ways to serve more customers while following public health guidelines. “We also [are looking] at if there is a way to creatively use parking spaces for outdoor dining, but there hasn’t been anything finalized yet,” Johnson said.

All of this comes at a time when Waterbury and Vermont should be bustling with summer visitors. But many events that draw crowds have been canceled and general concern about travel means that visitors who help fill restaurants, shop in local stores, and stay at local inns and hotels aren’t here. “We are in the height of summer, what would be our peak tourism season. And that is not happening right now,” Johnson said.

Town steps to help restaurants

Since March when the COVID-19 emergency began and non-essential businesses had to shut down Johnson – who works for the town and Revitalizing Waterbury – has been in frequent contact with business owners, working with them to sort out government programs, navigate new guidelines and brainstorm solutions to the economic hardship that the pandemic has brought.

“I think across the board there is a real challenge with the uncertainty of the future which we are all experiencing in our own lives in our own ways,” Johnson said in an interview this week. “Particularly for restaurants not knowing what the duration of this is going to be, what future months will be like, makes it challenging to plan.”

Johnson acknowledges that several local government initiatives have helped some restaurant owners. “The water and sewer commissioners gave some really generous breaks on folks’ water and sewer bills. Restaurants are pretty high water and sewer users so it is kind of a disproportionate impact … because they have been so hard hit.”

Town officials have taken a variety of steps with business owners in mind including breaks on utility bills and forgiveness on some loan payments and interest accrual. The August property tax bill was postponed to just have one payment in November, in part to give property owners more time before having to pay the town.

Part of Johnson’s job is to understand and help translate the details of the state economic recovery grants and the federal programs that have helped some restaurants and there is more expected. Johnson said the specifications for qualifying for various aid programs could be improved upon.

“There is a threshold that a business has to have a fifty-percent drop in revenue. Some businesses need that, but I want to emphasize that you could have had a forty-percent drop in revenue. It might not be dire enough that they met that particular program, but that doesn't mean it is smooth sailing,” she said.

The Reservoir Restaurant & Taproom recently reopened for takeout and dining, including expanded outdoor seating alongside its building. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti.

Mask resolution aims for consistency

The most recent move town officials took to assist businesses adjusting to doing business during the pandemic came this past week when the Select Board passed a resolution endorsing everyone wearing face coverings “in the presence of others” in public.

Frier made the proposal offering a similar effort adopted by local officials in Stowe recently. He argued for the measure as a way for businesses to have a consistent directive that supports their policies, especially without a state mandate for masks.

“It is tough when you don’t have the state saying, ‘Everyone needs to wear a mask.’ Now we all have something to point to when we say, ‘You need to wear a mask,’” Frier said.

The resolution says municipal employees are to wear masks and “Other businesses and all places in the Town of Waterbury that accommodate the public are required to do the same.”

Seats at the porch tables proved popular when McGillicuddy's Irish Pub reopened for dining in mid-June. Photo by Gordon Miller.

The measure was passed as a resolution, not an ordinance, and therefore is not enforceable. “The intent is to set the example and to encourage voluntary cooperation, not confrontation,” it states.

At some restaurants, customers were already asked to wear a mask until seated. Warnstedt said that is the case at Pro Pig and Hen of the Wood. “It wouldn’t really change anything we do. We support it,” he said.

At McGillicuddy’s staffers have been wearing masks and Nelson said he is supportive of the town resolution. “We didn’t do anything with the public. It is encouraged. If that is a requirement, it is new to me, but we certainly encourage people to follow those guidelines,” he said.

At Michael’s, Kloeti said patrons have been on board with wearing masks, especially as virus cases continue to mount in other states. “People don’t seem to have any problems at all. Before all of that there were some people who we would have to remind when they would come,” she said. “We actually have masks on hand to provide to people if they say ‘I forgot a mask.’”

No one is making predictions

Local restaurant owners aren’t offering predictions on what the future holds for their businesses. Ask them to venture a guess and you’ll hear some hope, but little certainty.

“We are really one-week-at-a-time right now,” Frier said. “We really hope that Vermont continues on its path of low Covid numbers in the hope that we can continue business into next summer.”

Michael’s future has been uncertain for awhile having been for sale before the pandemic. Kloeti simply says there’s really no way to make plans now. “Nobody knows what is going to happen,” she said. “I think the governor is doing a good job to keep control over things, but there is only so much anyone can do when people are coming in [to the state]. Everybody is just trying to do the best they can.”

Nelson said he’s hoping adaptations his operation has made will pay off past summertime. “It is really difficult to make plans when things are so fluid and there is so much change,” he said. “We have taken advantage of our time to streamline things. The to-go business may be a more significant piece of the pie, so we have geared ourselves towards that. … We are managing like everyone else.”

Waterbury restaurants: Who’s open and how?

Here’s a list of many local eateries and their hours and dining details as of July 10. Circumstances can change frequently, however, so please check for updates with the individual business. Reservations are generally required for dining in due to limited seating capacity. Per town resolution, face coverings are required in local businesses in the presence of others.

Blackback Pub: Indoor dining, limited deck seating; reservations, masks required. Call for to-go food and drink orders. Wednesday-Saturday, 4-8 p.m.

The Blue Stone: Takeout only; Wednesday-Saturday, 4-8:30 p.m.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Cafe: Closed until at least Labor Day.

Hen of the Wood: Open Tuesday-Saturday for takeout or dine-in, 5-9 p.m. Order takeout and make reservations online.

Hender’s Bake Shop & Cafe: Online ordering exclusively; pick upThursday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hong Kong: Order online for takeout only. Open Monday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays 12-9 p.m.

Jimmz Pizza: Takeout and delivery only. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

KC’s Bagels: Limited indoor seating available. Open Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Maxi’s: Reopening soon.

McGillicuddy’s Irish Pub: Open daily 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations for dining; order online for takeout.

Michael’s on the Hill: Open Wednesday-Sunday, 5-9 p.m. for dining in; 2-8 p.m. for takeout.

Park Row Cafe: Takeout Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Prohibition Pig: Restaurant open for dining in and takeout Wednesday-Sunday, 4-9 p.m. Brewery open daily for dining inside and outside, and takeout; 12-8 p.m. Order online for all takeout.

Stowe Street Cafe: Order online for takeout only; Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Subway: Order online or in store for takeout; Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday closing is 8 p.m.

Thai Smile: Takeout only; Tuesday-Saturday, 12-8 p.m.

Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea: Open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for inside orders and pickups, masks required. Online orders are available. Curbside pickup available for those who prefer to stay outside.

Zachary’s Pizza: Open for dine-in, takeout daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Delivery available daily 4:30 to 9 p.m.

Zenbarn: Open Wednesday-Saturday, 4-9 p.m. with inside and outside seating. Order online for takeout and pickup inside or curbside. Masks required indoors.