Restaurants Adapt To Virus Threat

RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Erin and Justin Farmer enjoy lunch at Mustang Bistro on Friday, March 20, before Gov. Mike Parson ordered Missouri residents to stop dining in at restaurants. Now drive-through, delivery and take-out are the only options, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Erin and Justin Farmer enjoy lunch at Mustang Bistro on Friday, March 20, before Gov. Mike Parson ordered Missouri residents to stop dining in at restaurants. Now drive-through, delivery and take-out are the only options, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Local restaurants are trying to adapt to slowing business due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, March 21, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced that, starting Monday, March 23, "in accordance with guidelines from the president and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every person in the State of Missouri shall avoid eating or drinking in restaurants, bars or food courts; provided, however, that the use of drive-through, pickup or delivery options is allowed...."

Before the governor's announcement, Amanda Roberts of Mustang Bistro in Anderson said they had seen a little bit of a slowdown, but business was still pretty normal. Business in the drive-through had picked up quite a bit, she said.

"That's going to help us a lot, especially if they close indoor dining," she said on March 19.

"We appreciate everybody that is still coming," she added.

Following the governor's announcement, she said on Monday, "We had a decent lunch, but it was very slow before that. Our drive-through is open. We're doing call-ins, carry-out. We will bring it out to their cars if they call ahead."

She said they will also deliver to businesses or to elderly residents within a reasonable distance of Anderson.

Haven 55 in Pineville has made the decision to close temporarily, according to a message on the business' voice mail.

The message said they are closing due to the covid-19 virus for the safety of their employees and patrons and they plan to reopen on March 31, but that could change depending on the status of the virus. The message also states the owners gave the decision much thought and they hope everyone understands.

Gayla Baker, owner of the Jane Store in Jane, said before the governor's announcement that business had started to slow down and that she had sent home three of her workers, one who requested to go home for her safety and the other two because business was so slow. She said most of her customers are regulars who are farmers who need a place to eat lunch.

On Tuesday, following the announcement, she said, "We've had several in today that have done orders. I've offered the curbside service. It's been pretty dead."

She said she thinks people will get used to the new normal and things will pick up. Hopefully, she said, the order to close restaurants to dine-in will only last a few weeks.

"It's just another thing we have to ride out," she said.

She noted she does still have people coming into the store to get groceries. She also has pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls available if people do not want to bake.

Before the governor's announcement to close restaurants to dine-in, Cheyanne Mathis, manager of Los Mariachis in Anderson, said, "We're taking precautions of seating people six feet apart. Other than that, we've just been cleaning like crazy. The last few days we have seen more to-go orders than anything."

She also said the restaurant was down to two workers a day. Most of the employees were students who said they could survive without the income, unlike the single parents who work there, she said.

"We plan to stay open and keep functioning to help the community get through this," she said.

Following the governor's announcement, staff members answered the phone at the restaurant, but no one in management could be reached before press time.

General News on 03/26/2020