Queens Struggles to Stay Open for Its Community Amidst COVID-19
In almost any other situation, the hell in which we currently reside could have been a dream for everyone who loves to eat.
Around the start of the Chinese New Year, New Yorkers found filling their stomachs to be the first line of defense against xenophobic fears, and advocates doubled down on dim sum and dumplings across the city’s Chinatowns. Elected officials asked restaurant patrons to do their part and food lovers fought with forks and knives to answer the call. To sweeten the deal? The city suddenly made it easier to order craft cocktails for delivery.
In the presence of a pandemic––for one reason or another––all some of us can do is eat. With New York State accounting for roughly 5 percent of coronavirus cases worldwide, Governor Andrew Cuomo officially put the state “on pause one week after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city’s dine-in services must cease for the sake of social distancing, stopping the spread of coronavirus and flattening the curve.
“Our lives are all changing in ways that were unimaginable just a week ago,” said de Blasio in a statement on best practices for New York City bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues to observe until further notice. “We are taking a series of actions that we never would have taken otherwise in an effort to save the lives of loved ones and our neighbors.”
Many small businesses were already struggling before the spread of the virus, and now some streets feel almost unrecognizable without familiar storefronts, many of which leave only a handwritten sign without a promise of return while they wait out the unknown.
“In these uncertain times, it is so important to do whatever we can to support small businesses,” said Thomas Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, in a statement debuting QueensBest.org, a new hub that aims to facilitate real-time updates from businesses open for delivery and pickup. “Queens has the most vibrant restaurant scene in the world, and we don’t yet know the true extent to which the coronavirus outbreak will impact them.”
The digital directory––compiled by several Queens-based Business Improvement Districts, including the Sunnyside BID, the Jamaica Center BID, the Flushing BID, the Bayside BID and the Long Island City Partnership––lists information and preferred ordering instructions for independent and chain eating establishments in Bayside, Sunnyside, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, Astoria and Flushing. It’s a helpful start––especially for those looking to order pickup or delivery in Astoria, as its neighborhood section also includes current specials and deals––but should not be considered definitive.
Maintaining the list, like any information in this fast-paced pandemic, proves to be an almost impossible task given the circumstances. As soon as it went live, QueensBest.org was inevitably already outdated, as restaurant owners and employees are faced with hour-by-hour decision-making for the health and well-being of their staff and customers.
Calling the phone number for Plantain Werkes––listed under “great takeout and delivery in Jamaica”––resulted in a series of rings that eventually led to a personal recording advising patrons of its closure. Plantain Werkes had only just opened its doors in early February, but by March 20 owner Rigo Pena decided to temporarily close after attempting to survive off of deliveries made by his staff, GrubHub and UberEats.
“To remain open during these times we need no less than 300 ticket items per day––between $8 and $12 per ticket sale,” Pena told me. He attributes the plummet in sales to the limited workforce currently in Jamaica, as the customers who would normally come from surrounding construction sites, courthouses and the New York City Board of Education are all staying home. “I’m hoping all this is over soon, but I believe I am hypothetically thinking, and the reality is it looks like it’s going to be a couple of months,” Pena said. Even if he could manage his goal to reopen by the end of the month, Pena said the supply at restaurant depots is limited. “We are trying to stay optimistic,” he said.
Others similarly remain hopeful and have gotten creative. Since the shift to delivery and pickup only, family-owned restaurants like Senso Unico in Sunnyside have pivoted to offer food packages (complete with complimentary bread and chocolate cake) for their customers to take home. “We want to support our community––many are working from home, children are at home––and we want to keep some sense of normality for our dedicated clients when it comes to their dining options,” said Laura Garofalo, who owns the restaurant with her husband and chef, Vincenzo. “I have spoken to many customers who also work in this industry about the effects COVID-19 is having on their livelihood,” she said. “It is a scary time for everyone, but especially for our industry.”
In Astoria, aside from staying open for his team––all of whom live in the area and depend on this income to support their families––Bruno Carusone, owner of Dino’s Pizza, took into consideration those who are elderly, chronically ill or otherwise unable to make it to the grocery store during this time. In addition to adapting the menu to include DIY pizza-making kits, ready-to-cook lasagna and containers of homemade sauces to add to pasta, the Dino’s Pizza team is now available to run errands––such as picking up medication or prepaid shopping––for at-risk people in Astoria every day from 2 until 5pm. “We hope to stay open for as long as possible and as long as it’s deemed safe for everyone,” Carusone said.
(When asked, all of the restaurateurs I interviewed described exhaustive sanitation practices such as switching to Venmo and other forms of online payments to minimize human-to-human exposure, sanitizing “high-touchpoint” areas––door knobs, counters, pens––every hour, implementing contact-free deliveries, thoroughly washing hands often, wearing gloves when handling food and asking employees to stay home when they’re sick.)
During this time of uncertainty, Tony Liu, chef and co-owner of The Queensboro, which employs 40 people, most of which live in the neighborhood and walk or bike to work, said closing up shop didn’t feel like an option. “We realize what a difficult time this is for everyone that we’re serving, so we’re hoping that by being here we’re able to give them some small comfort and sense of normalcy,” he said, though The Queensboro staff is closely monitoring developments with COVID-19, along with recommendations from health officials, and plans to close if that becomes the safest decision. “But like so many restaurants, we just don t know if we’d be able to reopen,” Liu said.
“If we closed we would have had to let go of our entire staff and it would be even harder to recover,” said Alexi Varveris, owner-operator of Tasty Grill. “We are trying to keep our staff afloat and at least pay whoever we can so they can survive because they all have families that rely on them.” Tasty Grill is struggling to survive and pay bills while having to cut hours from employees they have grown to consider family, but they are choosing to stay open to serve the community where he and his partner live. “In times like this we need to support each other,” he said.
“Things are changing by the day,” said Leanne Moore, co-owner of Maggie Mae’s Bar, which started offering cocktails for delivery and pickup in Sunnyside after the city mandate. “We are doing our best with the to-go orders so we can continue to pay rent and reopen when this all ends.” For Moore, staying open means holding down the space for the bartenders, bar-backs and porters who are “laying low” at home. “Some customers have virtually tipped them while they’re not able to work,” she said.
“You can tell from the outside they are weary,” said Jessica Lin, a senior analyst who runs the account @flushingfoodie. “Their doors are wide open and, honestly speaking, most of them are on their mobile devices.” Lin maintains social distancing while keeping at least one aspect of her life consistent: ordering takeout like she normally would and sharing restaurant updates online. “I’m lucky to be able to work from home and have a paycheck, so I want to contribute to my community by helping,” she said. “Even if that just means posting that they are open on my Instagram.”
With over 80,000 followers, Stephanie Perez, the Jackson Heights blogger behind @yeahfoodbeer, considers her posts––especially ones with resources for supporting the restaurant industry and defending Chinese food––a way to give back to all of the businesses that helped her get to where she is today, she said while patting her belly for comedic effect. “If I encourage a few people who follow me to support their local food and drink establishments then my job is done,” she said. (Or, as Tasty Grill posted on Instagram, “Your grandparents were called to war. You’re being called to sit on your couch. You can do this.”)
Perez suggests organizing virtual pizza parties via video chat to ease the strain of social distancing while contributing to the local restaurant economy. “Remember that every single dollar helps.”
But in a reality where rent is due, taxes are approaching and insurance needs to be paid, takeout, delivery and tips can only go so far.
Mike Fuquay, who owns The Queensboro along with Chef Liu and Dudley Stewart, emphasized the importance of publicly expressing concern for the food industry. “We need you to patronize us of course, but we also need your voices, pressuring elected officials at every level to support local businesses,” he said. “Congress loves to dole our money to their rich friends––Wall Street, casinos, airlines––but small businesses get ignored because we’re not stuffing their pockets with money in all the legal-but-shady ways that corporations and politicians operate.” Fuquay said The Queensboro worked hard to integrate itself into the fabric of Jackson Heights, and is overwhelmed by the outpouring of response, but notes the temporary fix is not sustainable. “You need to tell [elected officials] how much mom-and-pop businesses mean to your community––and how we can’t afford to let them fail,” he said.
On March 8, Mayor de Blasio introduced a plan to provide relief for small businesses experiencing a reduction in revenue because of COVID-19. According to the announcement, businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25% or more will be eligible for zero-interest loans of up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit. Businesses with fewer than five employees can receive a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees. But approaching April, the message has yet to reach many in Queens, though the Chamber of Commerce recently added a section to their website to help distribute important information.
“De Blasio said we should be receiving checks in our bank accounts,” Varveris said, while also mentioning what he describes as an abundance of “false stories” and “misinformation” at the moment. “Meanwhile, no bank info was even asked,” he said after filling out a form through the city’s website.
“Small businesses are not seeing any financial relief from local governments,” said Garofalo. “Rent needs to be paid, licenses need to be renewed, sales tax is due, and we are being left in the dark. The thought of a complete shutdown will be devastating. This is our livelihood and our everything.”
“Right now we don’t know anything,” said Fuquay. “You could drive yourself crazy thinking about all the permutations, so I’m thinking hopefully about all the things we could do to get out of this crisis––and make our industry more stable going forward.”
Garofalo said at this time all she can do is hope. “Hope for fast relief, hope for everyone s health and safety, and hope all small businesses can survive this crisis.”
“It’s really hard to think about the future right now,” said Fuquay. “Our future is two days from now. Everything beyond that is a great unknown.”
Some tips for supporting small businesses at this time: Order directly from the restaurant, place an order or call ahead to pick up to limit contact, tip generously for both pickup and delivery, call your representatives, buy gift cards for future use, leave reviews and ratings, stay at home and practice social distancing, share your meals and tag businesses on social media, and follow and like your favorite small businesses online.
Find available restaurants in your area at https://www.queensbest.org/.
