The night before Governor Whitmer announced the closing of all restaurants in the state, Spencer had a private, sold-out wine dinner scheduled. Though business hadn’t slowed down, owners Abby Olitzky and Steve Hall had been hearing the same news everyone else had. They expected folks might cancel, afraid of the spreading virus, but, in fact, the tables filled. “It felt like a party, like the last party,” Abby said.
What do you do, as owners of a small restaurant with a dining space too minute to ever viably seat people within the parameters of social distancing, to keep your business alive during a pandemic? Abby and Steve took the next two days—the restaurant’s usual off days—to assess their situation and make a preliminary plan. With only communal self-seating and no dedicated servers, Spencer’s opening concept followed a model different from most restaurants. Abby and Steve wanted a flexible staff, versed in more than one aspect of restaurant work; today an employee might help in the kitchen, tomorrow she might work behind the counter. Often, the person who made the food also brought it to the customer. When the pandemic hit, then, and Abby and Steve made the decision to go to take-out, they didn’t have to let anyone go as unnecessary or unproductive. (Two employees did choose to leave for personal reasons.) Keeping the team together has helped keep everyone sane, Abby said, and has made a work bubble where everyone feels safe. “It’s the tightest staff we’ve ever had”, Abby declared, “with a real esprit de corps.”
They quickly redesigned their website listing a call-in system for ordering, charges for disposable ware, suggestions for tipping, and pick-up instructions. Abby designed daily and then weekly menus that could withstand the limitations of the new concept—food that wouldn’t suffer in containers or with a bit of finishing by inexperienced hands—all without compromising the innovative, seasonal, and very locally produced dishes for which she’d been known. Initially, as local farmers raced to satisfy heightened demand caused by the upsurge in home cooking, Spencer often experienced produce shortages, but eventually systems and quotas were established. The first couple of months were quite busy for the restaurant—loyal customers didn’t want to see Spencer fail—but by mid-June business slowed, and Abby added a few “specials” like lobster rolls.
At the beginning of July Abby and Steve closed the restaurant for a week to reassess and tweak, and when they reopened, they had a revamped website and an improved on-line wine store that has helped boost total sales tremendously.
Can Spencer continue to survive in its present state? They can for the immediate future, Abby said, hesitatingly. They’ve already taken advantage of the federal government’s PPP loan/grant, and the state’s Work Share program. It’ll be tough, though, to continue if they can’t reopen the dining room by next summer or if the federal government doesn’t offer a significant bail-out for the entire restaurant industry. But they’re not interested in loans. As Abby insisted, it seems foolish to take on debt when it’s not completely clear in can be repaid; the future right now doesn’t even offer a reasonable bet. They might instead try some one-off events or Zoom classes to augment income.
The pandemic, Abby insisted, had laid bare the difficulties and inequities built into the present restaurant system. “It’s not a sustainable model, with lots that needs to get sorted,” she declared. She enumerated the problems. All employees—front and back of the house—should receive a liveable minimum wage. The hierarchy of stations should be eliminated and no server or bartender should take home hundreds of dollars for a relatively short shift while neither the cook, the dishwasher, or the porter can scrape together a living out of a seventy-hour workweek; restaurant work should be recognized as teamwork. Health insurance and retirement should all be considered, but right now slim margins for one-shop owners generally don’t allow them to offer those benefits--responsibilities, perhaps, better shouldered by the federal government. And food is still too cheap in our society; it doesn’t reflect its true cost of production. “Lots needs to get sorted,” Abby repeated.
But while there’s a plateau of what any one restaurant can change, people love to go out to eat. Because of the pandemic, customers—at least Spencer’s—have become more compassionate, Abby said. However, she insisted, public policy will be the only way to improve the inequities built into the present restaurant system, and that, of course, takes the will of our elected officials, educated by restaurant owners, workers, and guests--the very people who have elected those officials.
By Misty Callies, SFHV Board Member
Photo credit: Spencer
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As a supporter of local food systems and businesses that work sustainably for owners and employees, for the health of the community and land, for the future well-being of all, and for good food always, Slow Food Huron Valley finds Spencer’s continuing commitment to its opening vision during this most difficult time truly inspirational. If you know other food businesses—restaurants, markets, producers—that have managed to pivot and adapt to survive the COVID pandemic, please let us know at slowfoodhuronvalley@gmail.com. We’d love to talk to them and highlight their successes in future posts—hopefully with an eye to making the path forward easier for others.