Inside the Concept of Dining Out During COVID-19

By Iesha Westmoreland
Contributing Writer

An epic pandemic struck the world by storm earlier this year, with everyone still fighting its wrath. The essential workers of the community are working effortlessly to heal and create some type of normalcy within their community. Restaurant employees that are considered an essential workers have a different dynamic invested in this situation.

Establishments are now adorned with new cleanliness protocols. Different chemical solutions for cleaning and added garments to the uniform; such as masks and gloves. Employers implementing 6-foot distancing rules from the server and customers. Regulated times employees should be sanitizing high touch areas of the establishment, as well as providing disposable place-ware.

Servers and kitchen staff have found that very little has changed in wake of the state of the world. While the dining rooms for some are closed or others with limited seating sustain composure, some restaurant employees have obtained unemployment benefits to counter their loss of earnings through tips. “It is fortunate that some employers are looking to help their staff that they rely on to fulfill their business demands”, states a server from Jonesboro, Georgia. In fact, there are quite a bit of pros and cons to the service industry during this time. On one hand, there are employees who can benefit from these times, and others who are still out of work due to the international quarantine.

Restaurants are not the only ones in the foodservice industry going through changes. School departments such as Clayton County, GA; cafeteria workers are now working more hours even though there may be no students actually in the schools. New regulations implemented by local school systems suggest that meals must still be made but will be delivered to the school’s assigned bus stops. Then, the prepared food will be disbursed to the intended students at their respective bus stops. This will provide breakfast and lunch meals to kids that still need access to the daily nourishment they may depend on. “The workload has doubled to accommodate these new procedures”, explained a Riverdale cafeteria worker. Cafeteria workers are very overwhelmed with the new plans and making sense of their jobs that have changed drastically in just a few short months.

Customers have been super sensitive to the fact that food service workers are still making themselves available to accommodate the recent state of the globe. They are more appreciative of the food service workers, which boosts employee morale by knowing they are appreciated. Even with the few customers that aren’t the friendliest, things are still looking up for restaurant professionals during this pandemic. In actuality, most individuals are expressing that going out to dinner is their only sense of normalcy now. In return, restaurant workers are thankful and happy to still be able to serve.