Restaurant Leaps Pandemic Hurdles for Launch

Posted on July 2, 2020

A family-owned restaurant can have advantages in trying times.

Jose Ramirez, co-owner of Que Chula Tacos in 140 West Plaza, signed a lease just two months before the state shut down dining rooms and asked potential customers to stay home to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. To bring in a little revenue from only takeout and delivery orders, Ramirez recruited his wife, son and other relatives for staff, paying them with meals.

He said opening was still one of the hardest decisions he has ever made.

“We didn’t qualify for any federal aid because we hadn’t opened by Feb. 15,” Ramirez said. “We’re taking money out of our own pockets to see if it will get better.”

On the plus side, the restaurant — in the former home of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill and Hops Burger Bar — opens onto a plaza, which came in handy when the state’s restrictions loosened in late May and Que Chula was able to offer limited sit-down dining.

Que Chula got an early sign it might beat the odds. On the first day of business — shortly before what would have been Commencement weekend — Ramirez opened for lunch takeout and still served 30 orders.

140 W. Franklin St., Suite 110 | quechulatacos.com

 

Pandemic Devastates Arts Economy

For years, singer, guitarist and drummer Clark Blomquist has played at least a couple of gigs a week at local music venues, filling in with shifts at two Carrboro restaurants. But with the mid-March stay-at-home directives, clubs began canceling shows and restaurants moved to takeout only, canceling his shifts. Initially willing to “stick at home and see how it goes,” Blomquist said in May, “it seems like it’s gotten worse and worse.”

It was a common double-whammy as galleries and theaters went dark — wiping out income from artwork sales, concerts and shows — and restaurants shed staff, depriving artists of second jobs.

Katie Murray, Orange County Arts Commission director, called the situation “devastating.” Orange County has about 4,000 arts gig workers, she said. While restrictions have been relaxed during the pandemic to allow contract and self-employed workers to apply for unemployment benefits, most are denied because they can’t verify sufficient regular income.

Without live audiences, often the shows just couldn’t go on. While Ali Farahnakian ’90, owner of The PIT comedy theater on West Franklin Street, streamed improv shows to try to keep the club’s fans engaged, the schedules for music venues Cat’s Cradle and Local 506 became long lists of postponements and cancellations. “You don’t have the arts without audiences,” Murray said.

When the commission set up a GoFundMe relief account, about 140 individuals and five community organizations donated $41,000. Murray distributed a first round of $18,850 among 45 artists in April. She opened the next funding cycle to organizations that, like freelance artists, could apply for the federal Paycheck Protection Program loans — the ArtsCenter received one of the potentially forgivable loans, as did Frank Gallery.

The hiatus in the arts scene could lead to greater appreciation, Blomquist said: “Maybe when it comes back, people will realize how much they missed it.”

 

Hotels, Tourism Hit Hard by Downturn

Stay-at-home orders dropped occupancy rates to near single digits at many local hotels, the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau reported.

Demand fell off a cliff in mid-March and by April was down nearly 32,000 room nights for the first four months of the year, the bureau reported. Revenue fell 90 percent compared to April a year ago. The average daily room rate plummeted nearly $39 to $91.19, the first time in decades the price has been below $100. The bureau expected Orange County hotels to lose $33.4 million in room revenue by the end of the year.

Every property in Orange County had to furlough staff, said Laurie Paolicelli, the bureau’s executive director, who received a certificate in public health leadership from UNC in 2017. The Carolina Inn was among them, early on furloughing employees so they could retain health insurance while collecting unemployment benefits during relaxed governmental restrictions. As the downturn continued into the summer, the inn laid off 217 employees on July 11.

Hotels suspended food service, except for The Siena, which continued to offer takeout at its Il Palio restaurant.

Commencement weekend typically gives restaurants a cushion to offset the slow summer months. Last year, The Carolina Inn served 1,200 guests at its Commencement and Mother’s Day brunch, said general manager Mark Sherburne. The inn’s Crossroads restaurant lost that business and other special events this year. The hotel has stayed open throughout the pandemic, although most of its business in the early days came from parents in town to help students pack and move.

“It’s slow now, but it won’t always be that way,” Sherburne said. “The inn is 95 years old. It’s built on traditions. Currently, some of those aren’t taking place, but we’re looking forward to continuing those traditions into the future.”

“Our hope for the future is that when we reopen, we will see a quick rebound, thanks to the love that alumni have for this area,” Paolicelli said.

 

Kipos Seeking New Location

Kipos Greek Taverna closed during the pandemic restrictions and won’t reopen in The Courtyard on West Franklin Street. Restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias and his landlord couldn’t agree on a lease, so Kipos is looking for a new Chapel Hill space.

— Nancy E. Oates

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