WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Many restaurants continue curbside service and patio seating, and some are set up for indoor dining as they try to find creative ways to serve customers.
For Oran McGonagle of Weymouth, the idea of evolving the business models of his restaurants has been in the works for months.
“We have to try to evolve the business to make it work for us,” McGonagle said.
He is the operations manager for East Coast Tavern Group, which includes Boston restaurants such as Emmet’s Pub, Roxanne’s, and Sunset Cantina all of which, he said, remain closed because of the lack of people in Boston.
“We could be open 24/7, there’s still nobody coming through the door,” McGonagle explained.
McGonagle is also co-owner of The Cottage Bar in Weymouth, an Irish pub that reopened in June with dine-in service and outdoor seating.
“We realized pretty quickly people were pretty hesitant about going inside,” he said.
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The pub closed again while he hired new staff and changed the menu to one for the breakfast crowd.
“I had the steak and eggs today, they did a phenomenal job,” said Becky Haugh, a town councilor who visited the pub on Saturday morning.
McGonagle said the pub opened for breakfast during the last weekend in July and he plans to open it full-time at least into the fall.
Boston 25 News spoke with Bob Luz, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, who said once a vaccine is ready – as soon as the end of the year – he believes restaurants will go right back to the traditional model, but only because they were able to evolve and survive.
“It’s what makes restaurant owners special and restaurants the fabric of communities across the state,” Luz said.
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