Are you in or out? LIers tell us whether they plan to dine indoors again

As restaurants reopen on Long Island, some industry observers are unsure what the future holds for the sector or whether patrons will come back to dine at all. 

Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, said most restaurants are not back to their pre-COVID-19 staffing levels because they don’t have the guest count necessary to bring in additional employees. Fleischut said it’s unclear whether indoor seating capacity will increase above 50% this year. 

“We don’t know what the future looks like,” Fleischut said. “We don’t know when people are going to feel comfortable going back inside. There’s just so many variables right now as to what people are going to be able to do and when they’re going to be able to do it.”

Whatever decisions are made regarding those variables, the question remains: Will Long Islanders feel comfortable returning to indoor dining and wait-staff service?

Some Long Islanders have already made up their minds about their appetite for indoor dining.

Brian Quinn, 71, of Rockville Centre, said he is not ready to dine indoors as cases of the virus continue to spread in other parts of the United States.

“You see what’s happening in Texas with high positive coronavirus cases? It’s not fun,” he said, referring to that state’s surge in COVID-19 cases.

Dariel Bernstein, 31, of Stony Brook, said she didn’t dine indoors regularly before the coronavirus pandemic started, and though the option is again available she’s not totally ruling it in or out.

“Maybe [I’d consider] eating in a private place, but it would take a very specific case [to eat inside],” Bernstein said.

The livelihoods of those who own and work in a restaurant depend on patrons coming back. When restaurants began to shut down in March as the pandemic emerged, many of them had to furlough or lay off nearly all their employees if they didn’t receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Since March, more than 4 million U.S. workers have lost their restaurant jobs, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the same months on Long Island, more than 60,000 people lost jobs, according to the New York Labor Department. In June, Long Island added 9,200 jobs for that industry. Nationally, just over 1 million jobs were added in May. 

Vanessa Sink, director of media relations at the National Restaurant Association in Washington D.C., said restaurants are prepared to reopen because they were already regulated before the pandemic, as they followed USDA guidelines for food preparedness and personal hygiene. 

“We want to welcome back our patrons, but we want to make sure that we are welcoming them back in the safest way possible, and that means following all the regulations that have been put in place ...” Sink said.

Long Islanders told Newsday where they stand on dining in, or not:

Lemon Green, 61, Bay Shore

“No. You may feel fine, but 10 people you came in contact with may be carriers. I like taking my granddaughter to eat out, but I’m not going to subject her to people I don’t know [in this environment].”

Dariel Bernstein, 31, Stony Brook

“My concern is not the restaurant, it’s people taking care of themselves. Wearing a mask is not about yourself, it’s about protecting others. Because I didn’t do it [dine in] regularly, it would have to be a very specific reason.” 

Daniel Fuentes, 25, Bay Shore

“Yes. I thought it was the right time to eat indoors. I felt like it was getting better. It’s open because things are getting better.”

Laura Faye Bonanno, 49, Setauket

“I have no fear. I know that restaurants are looking out for customers and I hate cooking. The service had improved [since reopening]. It was as if they said, 'Thank you for coming and supporting us.’ ” 

Debbi Schnell, 51, West Babylon

“It really depends on how it looks in the restaurant. I can’t spend my time hiding indoors, but I’m still not 100% comfortable. I have lymphoma. I need everyone else to understand that we all have to be responsible for each other. If we all do the right thing, we will all be safe. Those of us that are high-risk, I need for people to care.”

Donyshia Boston-Hill, 46, West Hempstead

“Because the ladies that I was with, we walk together every Saturday and Sunday and I know their social distancing and quarantine plan and routine, we thought it would be OK. I probably won’t for some time go to a confined restaurant and eat indoors at least in the next upcoming weeks.”

Alan Krawitz , 55, Westbury

“My wife and I have been doing outdoor dining, but we’re not quite ready, not for a while [for indoor dining]. I’m nervous. There are still variables when you’re with people that are not your family, you don’t feel safe. I’d rather be cautious. I think if they had minimal capacity. I feel there’s low risk when you’re outside.”

Khadijah Fudge, 54, Westbury

“It’s kind of questionable. My concern is that someone could have coronavirus. I’d rather take the food home unless they have outdoor dining. Everything has to be safe and over.”

Brian Quinn, 71, Rockville Centre

“I don’t think hanging in a restaurant is worth dying for. I’d like to see a vaccine. I probably won’t go in for two years.”

Leeza Kramer, 22, Smithtown

“I feel like I wouldn’t want to be indoors because it’s closed off. If someone coughs, it could get worse.”

Paula Brillon, 71, Rockville Centre

“It’s OK that they’re open, but I’m just not ready to go inside. If things don't get worse, I probably will dine indoors.”

Jerry Vaughn, 59, Baldwin

“Whatever is going to happen will happen. You have to take a risk. At some point there will be a cure.”