A popular Downtown institution, L’Opera restaurant marked its 30th anniversary on April 19, but instead of celebrating, owner Terry Antonelli spent the day worrying about the future.

After more than a month of stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus, city and state leaders are beginning to map a blueprint for slowly reopening nonessential businesses. But for many, the post-coronavirus landscape will look vastly different.

This month, Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested possible policies for restaurants for when they reopen, including requiring servers to wear masks and gloves, checking diners’ temperatures and operating at 50% capacity to maintain social distancing.

Faced with the choice of having to reopen at half capacity, many local restaurants this week said they’ll remain closed.

“It’s not a matter of making money, it’s a matter of having the ability to sustain being open,” Antonelli said Friday.

Antonelli said he’s spoken with roughly two dozen other local restaurant owners who said they can’t afford to operate at half capacity. He noted that most restaurants see a thin, 5% profit margin, so running at 50% capacity while other expenses remain high would likely put businesses in the red.

“Our utilities, our rent, our insurance, our other expenses are still 100%,” he said. “It won’t work. We’ll lose money.”

Antonelli said many of the larger establishments in Downtown will likely stay closed until they can fully reopen.

“Pine Avenue will look it does now—completely empty,” he said.

Across town on Alamitos Bay, John Morris, general manager of Boathouse on the Bay, said he’s also planning to remain closed until the restaurant can open at full capacity.

And it’s not just the capacity that would hurt business. The masks, gloves and temperature-taking would all amount to one unappealing dining experience, he said.

“How are you gonna eat with a mask on?” he said. “What kind of dining experience is that?”

To address these concerns, the city has formed a Hospitality Recovery Task force with local business leaders to hear feedback from restaurants and the larger hospitality industry.

Sergio Ramirez, deputy director for the city’s Economic Development Department, said many businesses have expressed anxiety over how and when they can reopen.

Ramirez, who is leading the task force, said Long Beach has not yet decided on occupancy rates for restaurants and that any decisions would ultimately be made by the city’s health department in tandem with state and county guidelines.

“There’s definitely the concern about capacity rates, but we’re still in the very early planning stages,” he said.

Ramirez said the task force will advise on a “gold standard” for reopening the economy with input from local businesses. 

Ron Hodges, owner of the Carvery, Shannon’s on Pine and Shannon’s Bayshore, has plenty of ideas.

For one, Hodges said businesses could sell face masks with straw holes so people can sip drinks at the bar.

A long-time bar and restaurant owner, Hodges said he will try reopening at 50% capacity, but he’s concerned about people returning to bars if there are strict social distancing orders.

“Nobody wants to go to an empty bar,” he said.

As the pandemic ravages the hospitality industry, local hotels say they’re also concerned about operating at lowered capacities.

Imran Ahmed, general manager at Long Beach Marriott, said operating at 50% capacity would be tough for business, not to mention the cancelled conventions and other large events.

But he feels reopening slowly is the best way to protect staff and guests.

In addition to preparing to operate at a lower capacity, the hotel is also taking other precautions, including making plans for cleaning rooms with hospital-grade disinfectants and using fumigation machines.

“We’re swimming in uncharted waters right now,” he said. “It’s going to be a very different world all together than what we’re used to.”