Coronavirus: What’s Next for Ohio? Restaurant, bar owners not hopeful for future, poll finds

COLUMBUS — Many of Ohio’s restaurant and bar owners are not hopeful for their futures as new regulations have been put into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest Ohio Restaurant Association weekly statewide poll suggests.

Opinions on the 10 p.m. liquor ban are polarized. Restaurant and bar owners are either are extremely worried about the new regulation or feel it will not affect them at all since they don’t serve alcohol. A few agree with the decision, but one respondent shared that they will lose an additional $10,000 to 15,000 each week.

And with 47% of restaurants operating at 50% capacity or less, more than half feel they will be forced to permanently close within nine months, the ORA said Thursday.

Over the past several months, the ORA has conducted a weekly statewide poll on the health of restaurants across Ohio to gauge the impacts of COVID-19 on the industry. The results continue to be devastating, the ORA said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and capacity/curfew limitations continue to dishearten the majority of Ohio’s restaurants. While some industry sectors such as pizza are experiencing better sales, most have experienced significant sales losses for months and 54% said in our poll that they fear that they will not be able to sustain their business and will be forced to close in the next year,” said John Barker, ORA president and CEO.

“Consumer confidence continues to decrease as the virus remains top national news,” he said. “Our data shows the undeniable need for additional government support to stabilize the industry in Ohio and nationwide.”

The ORA and the National Restaurant Association are pushing for congressional assistance for the restaurant industry through the Blueprint for Restaurant Revival. The program outlines specific and immediate action the federal government should take to stabilize the restaurant and foodservice industry, most specifically a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program.

In addition, restaurants are continuing to share the message that they are operating safely and are doing what is required through cleaning, sanitization, social distancing and following protocols in the Dine Safe Ohio order.

The most recent survey was conducted over three days (July 29 – Aug. 4) and references information from Ohio restaurants’ business week of July 19 – 26, 2020.

Key findings (107 total respondents) of the most recent survey:

More than 75% of restaurants have now reopened. Seventy-nine percent of operators have reopened their dining rooms. Another 4% of respondents plan to reopen dining rooms soon while 17% of respondents do not plan to reopen at this time, an increase of 8% from two weeks ago.
Most are operating at 50% or less of normal capacity. Capacity is a major roadblock for most restaurants with 47% of respondents operating at less than 50% capacity based on social distancing requirements. Another 41% are operating at less than 75% of capacity. Only 11% are operating at more than 75% capacity.
More than 50% of restaurants anticipate forced closure if current capacities continue.
54% of restaurants believe they will be forced to close within nine months if they continue at current capacity. This number has been steadily increasing over the past 30 days but jumped from 31% to 54% in the past week. Only 30% of restaurants believe they can operate for more than a year or indefinitely at current capacity.
17% believe they will break even in sales in 2020 given current guidelines.
Most are still operating at less than 50% of sales vs. 2019. As restaurants reopen, sales continue to under perform compared to the previous year, but are beginning to improve slightly. 52% of restaurants are experiencing year-over-year sales declines in a range of negative 20% to more than negative 70%.
14% are experiencing positive sales, especially in the pizza and fast casual sectors.
Several restaurants have added retail options to their menus. 61% are selling to-go cocktails.