With Phase 1 of the Forward Dane reopening plan “ending” today, June 9, many Dane County businesses are looking forward to getting the green light from county health officials to begin Phase 2. That may come as soon as next week, and for restaurants like Mooyah, which has three Wisconsin locations in Fitchburg, Madison, and Sun Prairie, that’s welcome news.
When Gov. Tony Evers’ original safer-at-home order designed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 was overturned by the state Supreme Court on May 13, Dane County put its own safer-at-home order in place. The four-phase Forward Dane plan was released on May 18 and beginning May 26 restaurants, retail stores, fitness centers, and other businesses that had been deemed nonessential by the state’s original safer-at-home order were allowed to reopen on a limited basis if they followed a strict set of guidelines.
For restaurants, those guidelines for Phase 1 included:
- All activities that cannot maintain physical distancing must take place only with household members;
- 25% indoor capacity;
- Outdoor seating allowed;
- Space tables at least six feet apart. Limit each table to a maximum of six guests. At bar areas, maintain at least six feet between each household; and
- No customer self-service.
Public Health Madison and Dane County officials announced late last week that with Phase 1 coming to an end, the county will take several days to assess the data from that initial 14-day period, and if all seems to be progressing positively, Phase 2 could begin shortly thereafter. Phase 2 allows for up to 50% capacity at most businesses and lifts additional restrictions.
Mooyah reopened its Madison, Fitchburg, and Sun Prairie locations to dine-in customers on May 26 and so far everything has gone about as smoothly can be expected, notes franchisee Randy Bergeson, who co-owns the three locations with his two sons, Josh and Luke. According to Bergeson, as the restaurants reopen, it’s imperative for guests to see that their health is a priority. For example, Mooyah staff have removed chairs and tables and completed a deep clean of the restaurant. Signs confirm that there are no self-serve items at the beverage stations, hand sanitizer is now readily available, and team members get their temperature checked upon starting their shifts.
“The pandemic caused us to look at our business differently,” notes Bergeson. “From purely a sales point of view, we lost an entire revenue stream, which was the dine-in customer. So, we had to figure out a way to get our product to the guest, which ultimately was in the form of carry out and delivery. We’ve also gotten involved in some charitable events that have turned out to be a great way to not only get our food out to our guests but to really be a contributing member of our community.”
As for the local Mooyah team, Bergeson says they have been extremely fortunate. No employees were furloughed, and none have had health issues related to COVID-19. “We are going to come back from this pandemic and we plan to do it with our team that has stuck by us,” Bergeson affirms.
In addition to operating at just 25% capacity for the past two weeks, Mooyah staff have taken all necessary precautions to protect customer health as well as their own. Some of the changes include face coverings for everyone and gloves worn by all staff, not just food handlers. “We have a checklist of things that need to be done on a regular basis, and we use a timer as a reminder for these things,” says Bergeson. “We really need our team to feel as safe as our guests.
“We have always prided ourselves on having incredibly good food in a clean, inviting atmosphere,” Bergeson continues. “What we have done since reopening is try to really show the guest what we are doing to make our environment safe for them. Things like hand sanitizer for the team and guests. We take the temperature and keep a log of all our team members to ensure everyone is healthy. High-traffic areas are routinely being disinfected and measures have been put in place to help our guests self-distance.”
Bergeson adds that the corporate team Mooyah has been great for franchisees like himself and his sons. “There has been so much added pressure put on us regarding day-to-day operations and just the stress of trying to run a business during a pandemic. Our corporate team has really done the leg work and created a sound reopening plan with our quality assurance partner, Steritech. We are following their guidance coupled with the direction that our local health department has put forth.”
Bergeson says his three Mooyah locations survived the early days of the pandemic with a healthy serving of ingenuity, along with a side of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
“We did apply [for the PPP] and we were fortunate to receive some funding, which has helped us tremendously in keeping our team working through all this,” Bergeson explains, noting the rules of the program are strict on how funds can be used. “Most of it is helping us with payroll and some of it going toward our occupancy responsibilities.”
In addition to that infusion of cash when the restaurants weren’t making any revenue from dine-in customers, one of the things that local Mooyah locations started early on was the sale of “pantry” items such as fresh-baked buns, whole Idaho potatoes, and its certified Angus beef.
“It was a great idea put forth by our marketing team at a time when grocery stores were out of a lot of staple items,” says Bergeson. “A little later, we added our house-made potato chips and our fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. These two items are going to stay on our menu even after we get back to business as usual.”
Click here to sign up for the free IB ezine — your twice-weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. If you are not already a subscriber to In Business magazine, be sure to sign up for our monthly print edition here.
