How is Philly Restaurant Week Still Happening?

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Things to do during a pandemic:

  • Wash Your Hands
  • Stay socially-distanced from people you do not live with—AT LEAST SIX FEET
  • Wear a mask when you cannot socially-distance yourself and WHEN INDOORS WITH PEOPLE YOU DO NOT LIVE WITH.
  • Tip your delivery person, pick-up counter person, and any other servers generously. 30% is a minimum DURING A PANDEMIC.

Things not to do during a pandemic:

  • HAVE RESTAURANT WEEK.

When I first saw service-industry friends on social media complaining about Restaurant Week actually happening, I thought it was a joke. What kind of narrow-minded, reckless organization would move forward with Restaurant Week five days after just beginning indoor dining in Philly during a pandemic? The same kind of organization that brought the scourge of Center City SIPS to Philadelphia. The Center City District organization.

What is the Center City District? According to their website: “The Center City District Foundation is a charitable, 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports the programs of the CCD and CPDC in order to enhance the quality of life and economic prosperity of downtown Philadelphia. The Foundation has raised funds to support efforts that assist the homeless, increase Center City’s tree canopy, and create beautiful new parks and public spaces for people of all ages to enjoy.”

I can tell you what the Center City District is not. It’s not empathetic, caring, or compassionate for Philly’s service industry workers. If SIPS didn’t make that abundantly clear, holding Restaurant Week this year does.

What We Know.

Indoor dining has been linked to COVID-19 outbreak clusters in cities Pittsburgh, Nashville, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Milwaukee. The New York Times recently did an article, The Nation Wanted to Eat Out Again. The Nation Paid a Price, addressing the outbreaks traced back to indoor dining. Some of the important facts from that article:

In Louisiana, roughly a quarter of the state’s 2,360 cases since March that were outside of places like nursing homes and prisons have stemmed from bars and restaurants, according to state data. In Maryland, 12 percent of new cases last month were traced to restaurants, contact tracers there found, and in Colorado, 9 percent of outbreaks overall have been traced to bars and restaurants.

Since late June, scores of popular restaurants throughout the country, including in Nashville, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Milwaukee, had to close temporarily because of cases among employees. Texas and Florida also had to close bars this summer after a surge of new cases hobbled those states. In a recent week in San Diego, 15 of the 39 new cases in community settings stemmed from restaurants. And in Washington, D.C., cases have begun to sneak up since the city reopened indoor dining.

In Spokane, Wash., 24 customers and an employee, most of them between the ages of 19 and 29, all tested positive for the virus. Their cases were linked to a taco restaurant, even though health department officials indicated that the restaurant was practicing all the recommended prevention methods.

What Does Nature Tell Us?

We also know that COVID-19 looks more and more likely to be airborne. Nature, a leading scientific journal, ran an article this summer called, Mounting evidence suggests coronavirus is airborne — but health advice has not caught up, discussing the likelihood of airborne transmission. From that article:

Converging lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can pass from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols that waft through the air and accumulate over time.

“We are concerned that the lack of recognition of the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences: people may think that they are fully protected by adhering to the current recommendations, but in fact, additional airborne interventions are needed for further reduction of infection risk.”

Don’t Tell Us What to Do

We also know that Americans do not like to follow mandates, recommended suggestions, protocols, or guidance, unless there is an immediate, known, and seen danger to themselves or loved ones. If you don’t know that, then you have not been out to Whole Foods, Acme, Target, Walmart, laundromat, any other retail locations, or spent much time walking around commercial districts.

Because, if you were, then you would’ve seen example after example of people with masks under their chins, pulling masks down and talking louder to be heard, or simply not having a mask at all. You also would’ve seen some outdoor dining spots seating people far closer than the recommended six feet between tables. I would say that four feet seems to be more likely at many locations. You would have also seen people spending their entire time seated during their meal maskless instead of only when they are actually shoving food into their mouths or swill down their throats.

Who is going to honestly monitor all this during indoor dining?

TIPS?

We also know that people can be sketchy tippers. If you have any friends in the service industry, you’ve heard countless stories. Hell, I’ve been out with people who calculate the pre-tax amount to prevent them from tipping a few extra dollars. This past week, a local bar-owner and friend shared on social media three different instances of customers not tipping both on take-out and sit-down service during a damn pandemic.

How Is Restaurant Week Still Happening?

COVID-19 seems more likely than not to be aerosol and the viral load builds up over time, like the length of dinner. It spreads in bars and restaurants. Service industry workers, working indoors, could possibly be exposed to contaminated aerosols from unmasked diners where the viral load can increase due to improper ventilation (not outdoors) for hours and hours and day after day.

Center City District gives restaurants a whopping five days to figure out how to properly implement COVID-19 safety protocols? Are they serious? They’re basically giving the industry five days of a “soft opening” to figure it all out before the onslaught of bargain-hunting diners flock to center city for $35 meals. They aren’t trying to figure out who is the best expeditor for an opening here. They need to figure out the best way to remain safe for their customers and workers. CCD gives them five f*cking days!

At least wait a month to see if outbreaks start popping up from indoor dining.

The real kicker in all this?  The servers will endure these risks for DISCOUNTED WAGES! The vast majority of people going out to Restaurant Week are already sh*tty tippers. They are going to tip on their discounted bill, which means servers end up working for say 30% less than they’d normally earn on tips. While some frontline workers get hazard pay, Philly’s service workers get a pay reduction during Restaurant Week.

Do Something

Center City District needs to do something. That something is to cancel Restaurant Week.

I doubt they’ll have the compassion and empathy to do that, but I hope. Any restaurant owner that is participating in this insane decision needs to step up and add a minimum tip per person or hazard fee that goes directly to the servers regardless if it is paid via cash or credit card.

But, seriously, just cancel Restaurant Week.

If Restaurant Week turns about to be a giant super-spreader disaster for reduced wages for service industry workers, CCD is responsible.

Reach out to the CCD Board of Directors and have them reconsider it happening or hazard pay for the servers. Here is the list of the Board of Directors.

In the famous words of restaurant and bar legend Jon Taffer, SHUT IT DOWN!