Pandemic dining: Boise, Eagle restaurants give patrons first taste of ‘new normal’
For the first time since early March, restaurants opened their doors to guests for indoor and patio dining on Saturday as part of Stage 2 of Gov. Brad Little’s Idaho Rebounds plan.
While restaurants in Ada County are not required to submit a plan for review by the local health district, many have implemented changes to their operations to line up with safety protocols recommended by the districts and health experts, including lowering their capacity, spreading out seating and even altering how service is conducted.
The goal of it all is to keep their customers and employees safe, they said Saturday, while getting back to business in some fashion during the coronavirus crisis.
Eagle eatery welcomes guests inside
The staff at Bardenay in Eagle was more than ready to welcome patrons back Saturday, with some noticeable but necessary changes.
Tables were spaced a minimum of 6 feet apart, bar seating remained closed and guests were asked to make reservations to avoid a crowd of people waiting to be seated.
Servers wore masks and gloves, and sanitizer and wipes were strategically placed throughout the dining room.
“I think it’s a little strange for everybody. We’re kind of just readjusting to this new normal,” said Peter Goodwin, Bardenay’s controller. “From our standpoint, it’s just focusing on the safety of our guests and our staff, trying to maintain the social distancing standards. But it’s good to get people back in the building and just let people kind of enjoy what we do.”
Five separate groups sat at tables eating lunch inside Bardenay at around noon on Saturday, while a half-dozen more tables were occupied on the patio.
Among the guests inside were Andy and Jenna Furlong, who were celebrating their 12th anniversary with a rare outing that didn’t include their children.
“We have both been working at home with four precious, precious little children all these weeks,” Jenna Furlong said. “This is the first time we’re out at a restaurant, and to be able to go out on our anniversary and have just a little time for ourselves in a safe space here is wonderful. It’s really special for us.”
Another couple, Ryan and Caitlyn Prothro, were savoring a bottle of Dom Perignon on Bardenay’s patio after getting married Saturday morning. They were supposed to have a large wedding in August, but had to cancel it because of the pandemic.
“It’s bittersweet,” Caitlyn said. “We had a really big wedding planned for August, but obviously at the end of the day, you just want to marry the person that you’re gonna marry. So even though we had to adjust and have a really small wedding now, it’s fine, because we’re really happy to be together.”
Bardenay has gone to some lengths in an effort to keep its employees and patrons safe at both the Eagle location and the downtown Boise spot. Before the start of each shift, all employees are screened for COVID-19 symptoms and have their temperatures taken.
There are staff members specifically assigned to clean high-touch surfaces at least every 30 minutes. And because Bardenay also is a distillery, it can make its own hand sanitizer, which is available to guests at the entrance and for purchase.
“I think the happiest surprise is just kind of opening the doors and seeing people show up. I think that’s amazing,” Goodwin said. “Hopefully that’s a testament to what our leadership has done in the government down to what individual businesses are doing to make people feel comfortable.”
Busy patios in Boise’s North End
The popular Hyde Park area was busy Saturday with cyclists, shoppers and diners. Just as the lunch hour started, patios began filling up.
Though a majority of patrons and walkers were not wearing masks, the restaurants at the center of Boise’s North End made it clear new policies were in place with signs — and even whistles. Servers and owners at all restaurants wore masks and gloves, and had cleaning supplies readily available.
“People have been keeping their space. We got rid of a lot of bigger tables and used smaller ones and spaced them out. Less tables but more space,” said Dillon Monteith, one of the owners of The Hyde House.
Monteith has changed additional aspects of his service, including a walk-up ordering table as opposed to traditional waiting. He said his business was thankful for the busy afternoon.
Shantina Tavernaro and John Van Buren were at Hyde House on Saturday. Both are considered “essential workers,” they said, so being out of the house for the afternoon was not unusual.
“It’s a regular day out, except now there is something open,” Van Buren said. “Not just having to go to the park to eat out.”
For Tavernaro, it has been mostly drive-thrus lately to support local businesses.
“I don’t usually do a ton of fast food, but because of what’s been going on, the people that are working need that support and need that money,” Tavernaro said. “So why not spend five bucks a day and support our local places?”
Across the street at Sun Ray Cafe, which recently went through some public backlash for having big crowds waiting for pickup orders, was hosting patio-only seating while attempting to maintain social distancing.
According to general manager Todd Martin, the popular brunch spot is operating at four times less than its usual capacity. But the positive connection to the community and ability to give his employees work are his main goals.
“We have had some great regulars that have continued to get their food and drinks to go. We have developed new regulars and new customers,” Martin said. “I felt we were a release for our community. I felt that they came down here and it was a stress release of not being stuck at home, but maintaining social distancing.”
Martin said he was actively “policing” his patio to ensure everyone was staying safe and receiving the proper service.
Justin Zora, district manger for 13th Street Pub & Grill and Parrilla Grill, said he has been excited to see the support from the community, both when they were take-out only and now that they are open to in-restaurant dining.
Martin said he has always taken the restaurant sanitation process very seriously, and now his staff has taken that up a notch. The pubs have additional outdoor seating now, with tables spaced up to 8 feet apart, and they have increased the frequency of cleaning.
“One thing I think people overlook is this industry has always been very clean. We have to. We are in the industry where we could kill people every single day,” Martin said. “We really have to be stringent on our cleaning processes.”
Not everything is open in Hyde Park yet, which is also the case in downtown Boise, where many popular 8th Street haunts are waiting a couple more weeks to open patios and dine-in seating.
At Hyde Perk Coffee House, the place remains closed to indoor seating, although it is are still serving via a new walk-up window on the side of the building.
“We just haven’t fully committed to opening up yet because we feel that for the safety of our customers and the safety of our team, we don’t want to open our doors and risk something happening and then need to backpedal,” manager Peyton Bjornson said.
The family business has not set a date on when it will open for inside service, Bjornson said.
