During the coronavirus pandemic, restaurant owners have made the tough decision to either close their businesses or stay open, and hope they can get through the colder months for takeout and indoor use.
In late autumn, however, a third option emerged: hibernation, during which a restaurant is temporarily closed in the hope of reopening when the weather is warmer or the world is safer.
Emory “Andy” Kilgore, whose downtown restaurant, The Emory, is closed but hopes to reopen in the spring, told Boston.com in October that he had no choice.
“Our business is probably 70 percent tourism, financial district [workers and residents]and State House [employees], “he said.” None of this exists right now. Our sales were maybe a third of our sales before COVID-19. When we had [PPP money] We were fine with paying the payroll, but once that was up we just had no choice. We would just fail. “
Kilgore said they were able to negotiate with their landlord and that he hoped to reopen The Emory when the warm weather returns – and with the help of federal aid, which he believes they will “sooner than sooner “will come.
Michael Serpa also hibernated all three of his restaurants – Grand Tour, Atlántico, and Select Oyster Bar – and planned to reopen in the spring.
“Now you have a lot of employees or even just a few employees [if you open]”You don’t know how busy you are going to be, you have products, you have some kind of waste, you have to pay for bed linen and trash,” he said. “So the risk is that you can open and lose more money than just being closed. At this point, it just doesn’t make much sense to be open-minded. “
Whether open, closed or somewhere in between, there is no question that gastronomy has problems in this particularly difficult winter. And what happens in the colder months is likely to have an impact on the Boston dining scene in the years to come.
“The structure of our community consists mostly of restaurants and bars, and mostly small, family-owned towns that give the city the personality it took decades to build,” said Kilgore. “I really hope that in this politically uncertain time, cooler heads can prevail and that there is a good package that comes together not only for restaurants, but for everyone in the hotel industry and for people who are currently suffering and losing living space. These are hard times. I just hope the structure of the restaurant community stays solid so that our cities can retain their personality and backbone and we don’t end up with a bunch of company seats. “
Added on February 16:
Here are some of the newest restaurants that have announced they will close for winter and return in spring:
Lobstah on a Roll (South End)
The Columbus Ave. location of this local lobster bun has been shared on the South End Community Board’s Facebook group, which has decided to temporarily close effective February 1st. “We’d like to thank everyone for their support over the past three years and especially during this National Nightmare,” the restaurant wrote. “It is our sincerest hope to get Columbus Ave. back and toss the buns out in time for spring.” The company’s Newbury Street location is still open for collection and delivery.
Previously announced:
Below is an ongoing list of restaurants that have announced that they will be hibernating for the winter and returning in the spring:
A & B kitchen + bar
Abby Lane
Alpine restaurant group – The painted burro, Rosebud, Osteria Posto
Atlantic
Audubon
Aft deck
Mezzana bar
Beantown Pastrami Co..
Blessed
Black lamb
Brass Union
Brownstone
Canarian square
Cask ‘n Flagon
catalyst
Hi Beauty
Clerys
Colette
Commonwealth
Daedalus
Daddy Jones Bar
dali
Delux Cafe
Democracy brewing
Dos Diablos Taco Bar
dovetail
Fenway Johnnies / West End Johnnies
French quarter
great tour
Gray’s Hall
Guy Fieris Tequila Cocina
Haley, Henry
Hawkeye Hospitality – Elm Street Taproom, Five Horse Tavern, Worden Hall
Hennessy
Highland cuisine
Jevelis Restaurant
La Catrina
Lamplighter Brewing Co.
Little car
Little donkey
Holy Maria
Milk Street Cafe
Science Miracle Bar + Grill
Monica’s Trattoria
MJ O’Connors
Nathálie
Night Shift Brewing (Lovejoy Wharf)
OAK Long Bar + Kitchen
orphan
Orinoco (Brookline Village, Harvard Square)
Rail Stop Restaurant & Bar
Choose Oyster Bar
Shojo
Country vacation
Sligo Pub
Spoke wine bar
State park
State Street Regulations
Summer Hut (Back Bay)
T&B pizza
Tambo 22
The Asgard
The Emory
The gaff
Allston the horse
The Kenmore
The kinsale
The Lansdowne Pub
Time out market
Trillium Brewing Co.
Two holy tavern
Ainslie Cromar contributed to the coverage.
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