Reopenings: San Francisco's Historic Tadich Grill Hits COVID-19 Pause Button
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Citing mounting costs and having used up a federal COVID-19 assistance loan, the owners of San Francisco's Tadich Grill have announced the historic restaurant will be closing its doors Friday night.
Like hundreds of restaurants across the San Francisco Bay Area, Tadich's owners attempted to hold on with a combination of takeout orders, a gofundme page and a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the federal government since indoor dining was shutdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The current surge in new cases have further delayed opening indoor dining as San Francisco city officials have paused the process of reopening businesses.
"It's been over four months since we were first ordered to close our doors due to COVID-19," the owners posted on Instagram. "Since that time, we have been immensely grateful for the response of our loyal customers who have ordered takeout and nationwide delivery, purchased gift cards and merchandise online and donated through our Go Fund Me page to help us ride the wave as we chased the date for re-opening."
"As you're aware, that date continued to change and today we have no visibility into when that day will come. In parallel, the temporary relief from our PPP loan has dried up and without additional government aid, we've made the difficult decision to temporarily hit pause. Following the close of business this Friday, July 31st, we will temporarily suspend operations until we are able to re-open for indoor dining."
While many restaurants in the Bay Area and across the country have shuttered their doors for good, Tadich's owners said they would be coming back once indoor dining is allowed.
"When that time finally comes, we will be eager to serve you your long-time favorites in a dining room optimized for your health and safety," the owners posted. "We deeply appreciate your loyalty and support. Because of you, we have been able navigate these unprecedented times until now, and because of you, we will come back stronger than ever to continue our 171 year run."
Industry experts report that after restaurants and bars were forced to close their dining rooms nationwide in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, sales sank from $66 billion in February to $30 billion by April — the lowest such total, adjusted since inflation, since 1983.
In June, boosted by delivery and takeout customers, sales rebounded to $47 billion. But many restaurants desperately need to reopen their dining rooms.
"You cannot profitably run a takeover-delivery model if you also have 60 dark tables in the front of the house," said Sean Kennedy of the National Restaurant Association.
