'Cost Of Despair' Weighs On Montclair Bars, Restaurants In COVID

Eric Kiefer
Updated ·7 min read

MONTCLAIR, NJ —Ilson Goncalves’ philosophy on New Jersey’s latest round of coronavirus restrictions for bars and restaurants is simple.

“It’s my business on the line if I don’t follow the rules,” the owner and executive chef at Samba Montclair said.

It isn’t just lip service for Goncalves, who has become known for introducing Brazilian fare to North Jersey from his Park Street eatery. Earlier this year, he took a gutsy leap and expanded his restaurant amid one of the most devastating economic downturns in recent U.S. history.

"I believe in moving forward, and always reinventing myself," Goncalves said in August, noting that he had to sell his house to survive the recent downturn in business.

Now – three months later – cases are of the virus are spiking again across New Jersey. And with the new outbreaks have come new rules for the state’s businesses, including Samba Montclair and many others in town.

Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that restaurants and bars will have to stop all indoor service by 10 p.m. and nix seating at the bar. Outdoor dining, takeout and delivery services can continue beyond 10 p.m., and enclosed, heated tents can be put up outside. The new rules began Nov. 12.

Individual towns and counties are being given the option to roll out stricter curfews than the state, and have permission to order nonessential businesses to close after 8 p.m. The extra curfew hours aren’t mandatory.

When reached for comment about the latest state crackdown, Goncalves told Patch that he’s working hard to comply with every state guideline that the governor is requiring.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy, he said.

For example, as a small restaurant, it’s been hard to work at 25 percent capacity and to cut hours, Goncalves said.

“Where we really could use help with is for some of our diners to be more understanding with the restrictions we’re under as business owners,” he said. “On the weekends we have to limit each reservation to 90 minutes and sometimes people resent that, or having to be told to put a mask on when walking to the restroom. It’s so important for safety and compliance yet we still get pushback, when all we’re trying to do is provide a delicious dining experience within strict guidelines.”

THE COST OF 'DESPAIR'

There’s a serious burden that comes with COVID restrictions, according to John Van Wagner, president of the Montclair Republican Club, who blasted the state's new rules earlier this week.

“Here in Montclair, as everywhere in New Jersey, the new lockdown restrictions on restaurants and bars will cause incalculable economic damage to the most vulnerable proprietors, and that in no way includes the cost of despair,” Van Wagner said.

“Given the fact that government-ordered lockdowns have not proven effective in limiting COVID spread, this policy seems more designed to assert state power than to save human lives,” he added.

Across Montclair, businesses are doing their best to adapt to rapidly changing state regulations.

Oscar Fontana Roos, general manager of MC Hotel – the home of Allegory Restaurant and rooftop bar Alto – offered Patch the following breakdown of how the new rules affect their daily operations.

No indoor dining between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. – “At MC Hotel the new guidelines didn’t affect our Allegory Restaurant as our indoor dining hours were already set until 10 p.m. For Allegory Lounge the new guidelines are unfortunate as we had just re-opened for service until midnight prior to the new guidelines coming out. Due to the new rules we will encourage patrons to sit at our Allegory Outdoor Patio which has mushroom style propane heaters to keep you warm.”

Outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery services can continue – “It’s great news to hear that ALTO Rooftop can continue to offer outdoor dining and beverages past 10 p.m.”

All barside seating will be prohibited – “At MC Hotel and Aparium Hotels we have taken steps to encourage the health and safety of everyone who works and visits our hotels. We have already enforced the barside seating rule since we re-opened on June 25, 2020. We are going beyond the required guidelines and protocols, and we only allow table service at ALTO & Allegory, standing at our bar counters and bar seating have been prohibited.”

Restaurants may place tables closer than 6 feet ONLY if separated by barriers – “Currently all of our tables are 6 foot apart. We won’t be making any changes or adding any barriers to add more tables. Our community feels comfortable coming to our restaurants and bars knowing that we follow all the required guidelines so we will keep it the same way. We want to ensure we continue to safely service and care for our guests.”

Individual fully-enclosed dining bubbles may be set-up for outside use – “We have reviewed this option before, as it’s really popular in rooftops in NYC. Unfortunately it’s a costly option, but we are also concerned that due to the current spike in COVID-19 changes to the guidelines may continue, for now we will hold on this option. In ALTO Rooftop we have expanded the number of Pyramid Style Propane Heaters and added a second firepit to extend the ambient sense of warmth for a little longer. We are also offering custom-designed blankets to keep you warm, from a collaboration with our partners Aqua Panna & San Pellegrino.”

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Some Montclair restaurants and bars that normally close at or before 10 p.m. say they haven’t been hit as hard by the new rules.

Denise Ford-Sawadogo of the Montclair Brewery said the new 10 p.m. curfew will have minimal effect on their business.

"We understand the need for the restrictions and want to do our part to help end this deadly pandemic," Ford-Sawadogo said.

"It means that we have to close our inside an hour earlier than normal on Friday and Saturdays, our two busiest days," she continued. "We already close during the week at 10 p.m. Fortunately, we have our outdoor beer garden, so we ask people to move out there for the last hour if they want to continue drinking."

Ford-Sawadogo said that the weather is a bigger concern, at the moment.

"Since we can only have a few people inside based on the 25 percent maximum capacity, we recommend that our guests sit outside in the beer garden instead since we can hold a lot more people out there and we all feel safer outside," she said. "But when it's very cold or raining, our turnout for the day is drastically reduced, and sales as well."

According to a spokesperson for Ani Ramen House – which has a location in Montclair – all of its restaurants close at 9 p.m., except the one in Jersey City. At that location, the restaurant has extended delivery and pickup hours to try to make up for the lost revenue, and has added more heating units to its outdoor patios.

“It’s a tough time for everyone, no doubt,” the spokesperson said. “We take the rules very seriously, and are diligent in upholding all capacity and sanitation protocols, keeping the health and safety of our teams and guests as our top priority.”

But despite the bleak present that many Montclair businesses are struggling with, at some point, there will be a future that doesn’t include the coronavirus, according to the Montclair Bread Company.

The local bakery offered an inspirational message via social media on Monday. It partly read:

“It’s probably the worst time in history to make ends meet as a small business owner. BUT it won’t be like this forever. There is a future ahead of us in which we can sit down inside together again, without masks and restrictions. It may not be next week or next month, but it will be there for us.”

Are you a local business owner trying to survive amid the pandemic? List your information at Patch's Local Business Information Center here. Let us know how COVID-19 is affecting YOU in the comments section, or reach out to eric.kiefer@patch.com.

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This article originally appeared on the Montclair Patch