North Idaho restaurant owners, employees brace for likely coronavirus restrictions

January and February are the toughest months for small North Idaho restaurants.

Winter conditions often curb consumers’ desire to leave their doorstep, resulting in a home-cooked meal or choosing from a bevvy of delivery services.

When the snow and ice thaw in March, business begins to spring.

But things have taken an unprecedented turn.

The worldwide coronarivus pandemic has compounded an already stressful time for both owners and employees in North Idaho’s service industry, many wondering how their income and livelihoods will be affected in the coming days.

With neighboring Washington invoking a temporary statewide shutdown of restaurants, bars, entertainment and recreational facilities in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, many business owners in Idaho feel they’re next and fear the financial ramifications. In Washington, businesses may still fill takeout and delivery orders.

The White House on Monday advised those in the U.S. to stay away from restaurants, bars and food courts, and to not gather in groups of more than 10 people.

“I’ll bet you a ham sandwich that Idaho will soon shutdown its bars and restaurants like Washington did,” said Steve Eller, owner of both Cosmic Cowboy Grill locations in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Eller’s restaurants have roughly 50 employees between the two locations, including the new site at River Park Square in downtown Spokane, which opened last month.

“This is predominately effecting hourly service workers, and it’s heartbreaking,” Eller said. “It is my hope that government – state and federal – step in to help these workers.

“But I also know that if we don’t take these steps (to stop the virus), we’re going to overwhelm the health care system.”

Sarah Dunning, owner of Hayden’s popular Chomper Cafe and the new Belle’s Brunch House, already has seen business dwindle in recent days.

Dunning, who has 34 employees at her two restaurants, said she’s been vigilant in fighting a potential coronovirus spread, practicing high cleanliness and keeping workers and customers informed on social media.

With the sudden shift in demand, Dunning has been forced to “think outside the box”, running to-go food to cars and having gift card specials. She is also looking into food delivery.

“This is very much affecting both of my businesses,” Dunning said. “I’m worried for my family, but I’m also worried for all of my employees and their families, most who live paycheck to paycheck.”

Most area small restaurant owners find that their reserves dwindle in the winter, Dunning said, and count on an uptick in business in March.

“I hear that getting loss-of-business insurance coverage for this will be very hard, which is a crock …,” Dunning said. “It would cover employee pay, food loss, paying bills, etc. This is exactly the situation that should be covered, and I’ll fight for it. Right now, we need to focus on keeping our small businesses strong. That, in turn, keeps our community strong.”

Growler Guys owner Laura Nelson said her business saw a jump in to-go beer and cider sales over the weekend.

Nelson, who has six employees at her Coeur d’Alene location, said she expects Idaho to soon have more stringent restaurant and bar restrictions like Washington.

Fortunately for Nelson, her business can still make money.

“We have a drive-thru and are able to shift our business and offer pizzas and beer to-go rather than in-store,” Nelson said. “Our lobby will likely be closed before the end of the week. This is going to be a profound effect on most businesses and really scary to see how many are able to survive it.”

But while many businesses expect to take major losses in the coming weeks, Eller, whose Cosmic Cowboy restaurants have a menu of farm-to-table and gourmet dishes, is looking further ahead.

Eller fears many restaurants will lose workers to other employers during this time of uncertainty, forcing managers to have to rehire and retrain en masse when things return to normal.

“When the governor says ‘OK, everything can go back to normal now,’ it won’t be that easy,” Eller said. “It will take a lot of time and money to get things back in order.”

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger and multiple health experts addressed the media in a news conference Monday to discuss precautions and other topics surrounding the pandemic.

Wolfinger said he felt for the area’s service industry, but said the main priority is protecting the county’s residents from a potential coronavirus spread.

“What we’re really looking at is protecting the vulnerable population,” Wolfinger said. “I feel bad for the business owners, I really do, but we can only follow the guidelines we’re given by the CDC.”

Idaho had five confirmed coronovirus cases as of Monday afternoon, all in Southern Idaho.

The state of Washington has more than 900 confirmed coronavirus cases, including three in Spokane and one at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Panhandle Health District public information officer Katherine Hoyer said Kootenai County’s close proximity to confirmed cases “puts us on alert.”

“It’s one person away from being in transition,” Hoyer said. “We’re prepared.”