We hope you are all healthy and well in this crazy time.
First off, THANK YOU for your moral support, purchasing meals, gift cards, hats and t-shirts, and being awesome. Because of you, we are hopeful we will be able to find our way through the months ahead.
Many people are curious so we want to share an update with you. We get a lot of questions about how things are going and what it is like to be in the restaurant business right now. We are going on 28 years of owning The Sink and 8 years of our partnership in West Flanders Brewing Co. Just like you, we never thought that everything would just stop all at once. 2019 was our best year ever. 2020 that all changed.
We have had challenges before with two recessions and the flood. Things like shutting down for one or two days due to weather or having access to the restaurant blocked by construction used to seem like a big deal. Now we have this time to compare to and it reminds us not to sweat the small stuff.
We do not know what lies ahead. We are likely to reopen to just 50% occupancy and that restriction could be in place for the near future. The restaurant/hospitality/entertainment industry is a different scenario than most others. We rely on crowds for our energy. Our finances are built on people coming together, not staying apart. We will be one of the last industries to go “back to normal”. Whatever that is.
The PPP loan is not really helping in the way it was intended. We borrowed money to be spent immediately based on rules to be fully defined later. We have yet to get the clarifying guidance from the SBA and the clock is ticking. See this link for more details on the PPP issues: https://www.saverestaurants.com/what-were-fighting-for/
Please opt-in on the letters to our Senators and Congressional leadership if you agree.
Coming out of this will require different expectations. Restaurants are going to need all the money they can get just to try and swim out of this financial riptide. Offering high-quality meals will mean receiving a higher price point. Profit pays off debt and it restores the health of the business. Our industry can no longer exist on 6-8% profitability.
That's the big overview but what are we doing right now?
The Sink is running on a small crew with takeout/delivery/curbside. We have our full menu available and will soon be offering new specials items.
West Flanders is on a pause but we intend to get it back online soon with alley-side pickup and delivery. Just pull up to our back door in Morrison Alley and we will bring your order right out. We will have a revamped menu and a full offering of fresh craft beer in 32 oz crowlers. Please keep your eyes out for the reopening news on our social media outlets.
At both locations, we are doing our best to support the non-working staff and are planning to bring back everyone that we can as conditions permit.
Please, stay safe, support your local businesses, support restaurants, support each other.
Again – Thank you so much for supporting us all. It means the world to us.
Mark, Chris, Brian, Tell, and the rest of the crew
