Most of Jefferson County’s restaurant workers woke up Monday morning without a job, alongside thousands of others across the state.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced March 15 that all restaurants, bars, recreation and entertainment businesses among others will close for at least the next two weeks to dampen the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus.
While restaurants are prevented from allowing people to sit down and eat, they will still be able to provide take-out or delivery services. Inslee has urged citizens to participate to ease the effects of the closure on the economy.
Most local restaurants are either closing altogether or laying off workers to continue operating on reduced hours and services. The mandatory closure is through at least the end of March but could be extended.
How these changes will affect the Jefferson County economy long-term as it heads into the beginning of the tourism season is as of yet unknown.
City officials are thinking of ways to ease the economic burden of the restaurant closures on small businesses and service industry workers after a discussion at the city council Monday night.
Deputy Mayor David Faber called upon landlords to consider forgoing rent payments for commercial and residential rentals, or at the very least, lower rents to just cover mortgage costs so the burden is shared.
“There are a ton of people who are already living on the margins,” Faber said. “This is shattering the lives of some people.”
Other types of economic relief councilors discussed informally were property, utility or other types of tax relief, suspended evictions and suspending water and power shut-offs.
Mayor Michelle Sandoval urged citizens to be resilient and recognize that no matter what, the community will get through this crisis. But it’s now about planning to reduce the impact and come out whole on the other side.
“The community will be different. This will affect the culture of this town,” she said. “We’ll survive the crisis, it’s about afterwards.”
In a press conference Monday, King County Executive Dow Constantine urged Washingtonians to continue to patronize their local restaurants and coffee shops at a safe distance through take-out orders.
“If this pandemic is symbolized by the medical mask,” he said, “then perhaps our resilience is going to be represented by the take-out box.”
Pharmacies and grocery stores are excluded from the closure, but as most residents have surely noticed, most if not all Jefferson County grocery stores have been out of some essential items for the past week.
The Port Townsend Safeway and QFC are, as of press time, out of toilet paper, hand soap, hand sanitizer, body temperature thermometers and many other items.
Brett Payseno, Port Townsend Safeway store manager, said everyone there is working hard to make sure people have what they need, but that supply lines are tight and he could not give an estimate of when the items would be back in stock.
The situation is similar across the state, nation and world, where photos of empty store shelves are going viral.
Kris Nelson, who owns four Port Townsend bars and restaurants, said she has had to lay off more than 40 employees so they can collect unemployment.
“It’s heartbreaking for me,” she said. “They’re my family. I’m extremely worried for them.”
Nelson has brainstormed ideas to keep her businesses operating with as many staff as feasibly possible. The In Between, a specialty cocktail bar, has closed for the time being, but her other three restaurants, Sirens Pub, Alchemy Bistro and Wine Bar, and the Old Whiskey Mill, will offer their regular menu to-go, with curbside pickup, as well as special delivery service.
At Alchemy, chefs and waitstaff are creating a meal-delivery service where bartenders will bring food and mix specialty cocktails at your house, she said.
“It’s not a financial gain for me to stay open,” she said. “In fact, it’s going to cost a lot more to stay open. But I wanted to keep as many employees working as possible. I’m hoping the community will rally behind this and continue to order food for take-out.”
Mike Pruitt, manager of Waterfront Pizza, said since they had to close the upstairs seating area, they have had to lay off five employees. He said he’s going to do everything within his power to stay open for delivery, take-out slices and pizzas.
Heidi Drewery, owner of the Courtyard Cafe, said they will continue doing take-out but that the restaurant is kind of in limbo. They need patrons to stay open and pay their bills, but they are limited by what they can do.
One thing she has had several committed customers do is buy gift certificates. The restaurant can keep income through the purchases and later down the line, once the restaurant is fully reopened and people are coming out of quarantine, they will be able to use them again.
“Our community is amazing.” She said. “We have survived having no ferry and no bridge. We survived the recession. We’re going to make it through this too.”
Jacki Pallister, owner of the Point Hudson Cafe, said they will close completely for at least 10 days to do a deep clean of the restaurant and let the energy surrounding the ongoing crisis calm down. She said they have had to let almost all of their employees go so they can seek state assistance, but will be able to keep some to do the cleaning and reorganization.
Kelly Anthony, owner of the Bayview Restaurant, said they will continue to do take-out as they always have, but they similarly have let most of their staff know they will be out of work for the foreseeable future. She said it’s not going to be easy, but there is really not much else they can do.
“I wish I could help them, but I need help myself,” she said.
Tana Kettle, owner of the Blue Moose Cafe, said they may be hit particularly hard by the close because a large amount of their patronage is other restaurant workers. The Blue Moose will have reduced hours from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and only serve their breakfast menu for take-out.
Mike Howell, owner of Howell’s Sandwich Co., said he had to lay off three employees on Monday. On March 17 he announced his business will be shutting down completey at the end of the week.
“If you think take-out will be our savior, I’m sorry it’s just not true,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “People need to be real about the coming days and understand how many people are going to be in deep deep trouble. With no work comes no expendable income.”
Until they close the doors on Friday, anyone who is in need of a meal can order the “PT special” for a free pre-made lunch.
Whatever food they have left over when they close will be donated to the Port Townsend Food Bank, where Howell urged others who are looking to help in this time of need to direct their attention.
Restaurants and bars are not the only businesses seeing closures. Businesses like hairdressers, nail salons, tattoo parlors, gyms, museums and art galleries will also be required to shut down.
Peninsula Taxi announced Monday that the state-wide changes will also impact them, and they will have reduced hours with only one driver and prioritizing rides for people who need to get to work and doctor appointments.
“We at Peninsula Taxi do not take this decision lightly,” the company said in a press release. “These are trying times, both economically and healthwise. We have been serving the community for 28 years, and would like to continue to do so.”
The Mountain View pool and the city and county libraries are also closed. Community read events are being rescheduled for the fall, and other library events and services suspended. According to the City of Port Townsend website, the library is exploring options to continue service such as reference services via phone, drive-up book programs, virtual programs and increased access to online ebooks and streaming services.
Reporter Lily Haight contributed to this report
