Philly restaurants may not survive coronavirus due to confusing new sales restrictions | Opinion

On Thursday, my restaurant, Devil’s Den, opened at 4 p.m. We had a few reservations set up for outdoor dining later in the evening, but we had several tables open for walk-in guests. A gentleman asked if he could sit and have a beer. We told him that he would need to order food to sit at a table, but if he just wanted a beer, he would have to buy it to go. He rode away without purchasing anything. In a time where every dollar counts, I was forced to turn away a sale.

As a restaurant owner, I have been complying with every coronavirus-related mandate over the last four months. But the most recent guideline, tying alcohol sales to food, has created a no-win situation for restaurants like mine, as well as for Philadelphia’s many wineries, breweries, and distilleries.

I understand that city and state officials must set guidelines in order to best protect Philadelphians from the pandemic, but the lack of clarity and the short timelines have been frustrating and almost impossible to manage.

In March, Gov. Tom Wolf shut down businesses and mandated stay-at-home orders. Reservations were canceled, and business slowed. At noon on March 16, we were ordered to shut down by 5 p.m. — five hours’ notice. We rushed to inform staff, figured out how to handle perishable goods, and planned for a short closure. While many businesses quickly opened for takeout, I took the time to apply for grants, which quickly dried up, and loans, which I will have to repay. I researched third-party delivery services, attended online seminars, and read every article I could on how to reopen safely.

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When restaurants reopened for outdoor dining in June, we were told that we were responsible for upholding the state and city’s guidelines and refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask. Although I’ve been happy to enforce this rule for the safety of my guests and staff, this has led to my staff and I getting verbally assaulted and harassed by patrons and passersby who are unwilling to wear proper face coverings.

Then, we were told to prepare for indoor dining on July 3. I made the decision not to reopen for indoor dining. I could see that people were still not complying with the mask mandate, and numbers were going up. It was a good decision — the city decided to postpone indoor dining while many businesses had already invested in additional food, started taking reservations, and hiring staff.

Then on Wednesday, July 15, the guidelines changed again. The governor decided that guests couldn’t enjoy an alcoholic beverage unless they were also ordering a meal … and this was to go into effect the next day.

This newest mandate is extremely hurtful to small local breweries, distilleries, and wineries whose licenses didn’t previously require food sales. We still don’t know what constitutes a “meal.” A Philadelphia Magazine reporter spoke to a local health inspector, who said that any food item would count as a meal, like a bag of chips, popcorn, etc. However, many attorneys say that isn’t the case, that a meal means food sufficient enough to constitute a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When I call the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board or the state looking for clarification, they say they’ll send the information when they finalize the law. So we’ve been required to enforce a law that hasn’t even been defined by the lawmakers yet.

» READ MORE: You now must buy a meal to drink inside a Pennsylvania bar or restaurant. But what is a ‘meal'?

I believe that these new guidelines are a result of the actions of a few bad apples. Many bars are still violating the rules and allowing people in without masks, not properly social distancing, etc. Why can’t the city fine them and take away their licenses? If they can send agents to my bar multiple times, then they should be able to send them to those establishments as well. When I inquired about this, I was told that it’s on me to call 311 and report them. So not only do I have to police my guests, but I’m also supposed to police other bar owners as well?

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Philadelphia’s vibrant food and drink scene was already in a state of crisis due to the coronavirus, as thousands of servers, bartenders, line cooks, and front of house staff have been unemployed for months. We need every sale we can get, but because of this new mandate, many of the city’s beloved establishments will not make it to the other side of this crisis.

Erin Wallace is the owner of Devil’s Den in South Philly and founder of the Philly chapter of Pink Boots Society, a nonprofit organization with an international membership that supports women working in the brewing profession.