As mandatory sanctions are partially lifted, Florida restaurants (with the exception of South Florida) are gearing up to reopen their dining rooms starting Monday, May 4th 2020.
In this multi part series we dig deeper into Orlando’s culinary scene with an inside look at the heart wrenching efforts of Matt Coltrin and his talented team at The Parkview Winter Park as they continue to brave the battle with our common enemy – Covid-19.
On a personal note, Parkview under the tutelage of Matt, quickly became the stomping grounds of like minded wine collectors, craft beer lovers, boozy brunch fiends, and fellow industry professionals.
Let’s start with the basics. Tell us about your restaurant and when did you shutter your doors to the public?
So, you’re pretty familiar with The Parkview and its normal operations. Everything sort of started to screech to a halt around March 18th. The Winter Park Artfest was scheduled for that weekend, and I had received an email from the City Commissioners Office the day before informing me that the festival would go on as planned. The following day it was announced that the WP Artfest was cancelled. Unfortunately the news hit us pretty hard, not only because the most important week of the year was gone, but we had already doubled most of our food and wine orders. At that point we could still operate, but at 50% capacity.
Tell us how you had to adapt in day to day affairs during the lock-down? Both personally and at the restaurant?
It wasn’t long before all restaurants had to close their doors to dine-in customers. At this point, we were forced to cut all of our serving staff. For a few weeks, we operated with a focus on pick-up orders. Sadly, we’ve never really been a takeout establishment. The Parkview has always been a gathering place, and although our kitchen built a great reputation, takeout only represents about 5% of our food sales. So after about 2 weeks, we had to shutter our kitchen as well. This was really heartbreaking for me. Although I knew that circumstances were out of my control, to tell Chef that we can’t afford to keep his kitchen open was really a kick to the gut… So now we had to shift our focus to becoming a glorified wine store.
Together with my mangers we tried to make a go at it. Holly came up with the idea of offering “Mystery Boxes” of wine that have really been the biggest success at marketing ourselves as a retailer. And to her credit, this brilliant idea inspired every other wine bar in the community to develop their own version. Next we came virtual tastings on Facebook Live – three wines (discounted), tasted together live on Facebook. But even with decent interest in mystery boxes and FB tastings, it still wasn’t enough to keep the management team on staff.
Eventually I had to cut the managers too. Heartbreak again.
For the past few weeks, It’s all up to us – Holly and I.
According to National Restaurant Association, 8 million restaurant industry employees have been laid off or furloughed. With PPL becoming a sore subject for many, the federal stimulus of $600 per week through July 31st combined with unemployment benefits, is your staff better off not returning to work?
Yes, the staff is better off receiving unemployment. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how many of them have been able to file. I understand that Florida isn’t equipped to manage the surge of enrollment. I imagine that at this point, that most restaurant workers are no longer working. I haven’t seen the numbers, but outside of fast-food, and takeout based restaurants, the model we’ve been forced to operate under is unsustainable. Hopefully the state has worked the bugs out of the system.
What has been your biggest challenge since the outbreak?
The biggest challenge for us has been pretty straight forward: how do you keep a business whose model requires customer attendance open. I mean the goal is pretty simple at this point…just limp across the finish line, and hope to be standing when things go back to normal or at least have established a new protocol that works if things never go back to “normal”.
Despite the looming threat of Covid19, restaurants are getting ready to reopen their doors to the public. When do you plan on opening up your dining room?
We will open at some capacity tomorrow, Monday the 4th. It will take a few weeks to be fully operational, but we will allow customers in the doors at least.
As per Florida’s Governor’s order, restaurants in Florida (with the exception of South Florida) can reopen their doors starting May 4th, as long as they follow strict protocols including maintain social distancing with 25% indoor seating and 6” physical separation for patio dining. Is this financially feasible and sustainable for your restaurant?
The requirements to allow customers back at 25% capacity is not sustainable in the long term. However, its a step in the right direction. And its definitely better than its been for awhile. To be honest for us, it’s probably as much as we can handle right now. The affects of Covid-19 on our business (and probably most restaurants) can’t be over-stated, it’s been a disaster. So no, it’s also not sustainable, but it’s at least a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s an indication that this too will pass.
From big meat processing plants to local Florida farmers, Covid-19 has upended the entire food supply chain. How does it affect your restaurant?
I really don’t have a pulse on this question, because I’ve been on a buying freeze for weeks. I’ve heard its not good out there, but I really won’t know until I get back into the market.
The obvious danger of allowing restaurants to reopen or work at full capacity is that Covid-19 infections may rebound. What measures are you specifically taking to gain customer confidence? How do you convince people that it’s safe to return to restaurants?
This is a tricky question. That can really only be answered honestly by simply saying “I don’t know”. Obviously, we are taking every precaution to ensure that our establishment is safe. But how the public perceives the danger right now is a question I can’t answer. We have hand sanitizer available for guests, we will be wearing masks and gloves, following strict hand washing protocols, and sanitizing each table between customers. Hopefully that will ease most people’s fears. But I understand that we are charting new territory right now, and I can’t pretend to have any idea where the public stands concerning our collective new reality. From the people I’ve spoken to, a lot of us are ready to get back to living. I know I am. Like most things, we’re going to have to play this one by ear.
Any future concerns? Short term or long term impacts due to the lock-down?
I’ve been running bars and restaurants since the 90s, and for the first time ever, I have no idea if what I’m doing is right. This is a hydra-headed monster we’re all dealing with in this industry, and my concern is what the next bite is going to be?
Any message for the public?
My message to the public really is just a heartfelt THANK YOU. We are really fortunate because we’ve established a very loyal following. And our community have really turned up to support us in any way that they can. We have one couple show up everyday to just purchase a cold-brewed coffee, seriously every single day. A neighborhood mom who’s daughter hosted their wedding rehearsal with us, checked in us to make sure that her kids have done enough to support us. We’ve been extremely blessed by the neighborhood support. And it means everything to me. I really set out to make The Parkview a neighborhood gathering spot.
I look forward to being that again.
Stay tuned while we continue our coverage of the on-going impact of Covid-19 on our beloved restaurant industry. Until next time, stay safe, be kind, and have a delicious day.
PS: Shoot me a text if you want to share a pint or glass of bubbles at Parkview’s outdoor patio. And don’t forget fur babies are always welcome on Winter Park’s fashionable streets.
About Author
1 thought on “A Heartfelt Dialogue with The Parkview: A Playground for Beer, Wine, & Food Enthusiast!”
Comments are closed.