Adjusting to change, ‘tight-knit’ Sacramento restaurants collaborate on outdoor dining

It’s been an exhausting four months for Sacramento’s restaurants.

After being forced to shutter indoor and outdoor dining in March, restaurants have changed their business models quickly and often. After a brief stint of indoor dining was halted earlier this month, restaurants are now wrestling with the latest regulation: one that solely allows outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.

Some restaurant owners say the constant changes in regulations have led to a sense of whiplash. But many say they recognize the orders’ necessity — especially amid rising case counts in Sacramento.

Alex Origoni, co-owner of downtown Sacramento favorite The Shady Lady Saloon, said all of the state and county orders “have made sense.”

“They haven’t always been great for me personally, they haven’t been great for friends of mine in other industries,” Origoni said. “But there’s always been a rationale behind it that I’ve understood.”

Even so, the changes The Shady Lady has undergone just in the past four months have been more than many restaurants deal with over the course of a lifetime. After offering curbside-only in March, the restaurant opened up for limited indoor dining — for just a week and a half — before it was again disallowed.

“Things are changing so rapidly,” Origoni said. “It feels like you’re constantly pivoting.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom walked back indoor dining earlier this month amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Sacramento. As it stands, the current directive allows restaurants to remain open for outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.

After reverting back to takeout for a little over a week, Origoni and other restaurant owners are tackling another challenge: outdoor dining. And this time, they’re doing it in tents.

A new sight on R Street

Recent visitors to R Street in Sacramento in the last couple weeks may have noticed some new, temporary, structures. Tents are now a fixture in downtown: one outside of Mas Taco, another shared between BAWK’s, Burgers and Brew and The Shady Lady. And the tents have spread throughout the city — there’s another shared between 80-plus-year-old Gunther’s Ice Cream and Pangaea Bier Café, just north of Curtis Park.

Pangaea general manager Lucas Rodriguez told The Sacramento Bee that after indoor dining was once again disallowed, he gave the staff two weeks off to allow them a break amid a tumultuous last few months. Then they reopened in full swing, with a shared outdoor tent hosting more than 20 tables.

Rodriguez said the setup has gone off without a hitch. After initially opening with just four outdoor dining tables, he said customers appreciate the extra seating capacity, all while feeling comfortable and safe in an outdoor, spread-out setting. “People are just excited and grateful that we can do that. Sometimes underneath this tent it feels a little more relaxing than the previous ways of dining,” Rodriguez said.

Burgers and Brew owner Derar Zawaydeh echoed Rodriguez, saying the new tents on R street are reminiscent of a “block party, like a beer-fest environment.”

The main tent at Pangaea comes with an extra pop-up tent that appears on the weekends to serve ready-to-go Nathan’s hot dogs, Texas-style chili, and Beyond Bratwurst for vegans and vegetarians. “It’s a nice way — when Pangaea’s kitchen is really busy and there’s a lot of people under the tent — for somebody to come up and just get a quick dog if they just want some food, instead of having to wait for the kitchen,” Rodriguez said.

Origoni said while he hopes that cases begin to slow and indoor dining becomes safe soon, for now, outdoor dining at The Shady Lady has been a success. Part of this is due to nearly constant communication with surrounding restaurants about new regulations and how best to deal with them — either via Facebook pages, email, text or ‘any channel we can.’

“The restaurant community as a whole in Sacramento is actually kind of famously cooperative,” Origoni, who shares a tent with two other businesses, said. “I’m in communication often, as are my partners, with other restaurateurs, and bartenders, servers and cooks. We’re a part of the community here.”

Amid uncertainty, ‘make a plan that can pivot in any direction.’

Even with the collaboration among the restaurant community, Origoni said the rules and regulations affecting restaurants amid the pandemic can be difficult to keep up with. “Since mid-March, things have been changing on what seems like a nearly daily basis. So it’s been a challenge to keep up with, and make sure that we’re adapting as the conditions change,” he said.

The coronavirus pandemic presents long-term uncertainties for restaurants, many of which are built on the pillars of social interaction. And ever-changing regulations have a severe impact on local businesses, said Sacramento State economist Raul Tadle.

“Even if California announces they’re going to open [indoor dining] again, a lot of restaurants are going to be less willing to do so,” he said.

But in the meantime, restaurants across the city say they’ve gotten used to rolling with the punches, and have learned to be fast on their feet.

“I think the main thing I learned is that you just have to be ready to pivot,” Rodriguez said. “The plan that you make should be one that is able to be transformed into to-go only very quickly. Instead of cornering yourself, make a plan that can pivot in any direction.”