Some business owners make case for not opening R.I. restaurants and bars

Not all restaurants and bar owners in Rhode Island want to open to indoor seating and a small group of them want you to know why.

The co-op owners at Fortnight Wine Bar in Providence set down their opinions in a letter that was then signed by the owners of Birch and Oberlin, North and Big King, Bolt, the Courtland Club and Tilly’s Cheesesteaks. Now they are hearing from others who feel the same way, said Liz McDonnell of Fortnight.

The gist of it is this: They believe going back to work is dangerous for both staff and customers. They say it’s prudent to stick with the safeguards that have been put in place for takeout and online ordering.

They also called on the local government and officials to protect their “extremely important and equally vulnerable industry during this crisis” both financially and physically.

Since the letter was released on the UpriseRI website Tuesday, “So many have said thank you for saying this,” said McDonnell. “My gut is validated.”

Ben Sukle, owner of Birch and Oberlin, said simply, opening for dining “Doesn’t feel safe to me.”

Both his Providence restaurants have been serving takeout. They had a scare, a member of the staff who got sick and went to the doctor. He was tested and it turned out to be a cold not the virus.

“But it was such a stress to them and to the rest of the staff and me,” he said. It gave him an inkling of what he would be subjecting everyone to with an open restaurant.

“Is that worth operating at 50% capacity? Not by a long shot,” Sukle said.

McDonnell also wonders if they are allowed to reopen from a regulatory level, what will happen to loans, rent abatement and other financial programs currently helping small businesses to survive.

She also spelled out the viral scene she fears at Fortnight.

“Bartenders, for example, wash people’s glasses. People scream across the room to each other, just having fun, and they sit at communal tables,” she said.

She outlines the ways the virus can spread in a restaurant in the letter.

In-person indoor dining simply will not be safe until there is either a vaccine, an effective anti-viral treatment, or testing and tracing that virtually eliminates COVID-19 from the community, she said.