Photo courtesy of Arthur Ircink
Arthur Ircink, creator and producer of “Wisconsin Foodie”
As the creator and producer of “Wisconsin Foodie,” Arthur Ircink has championed our state’s vibrant bar and restaurant industry and food culture. In an effort to help the restaurant community, he’s complied a one-stop resource on “Wisconsin Foodie’s” website: wisconsinfoodie.com/blog/restaurant-news-and-updates-covid-19. The comprehensive listing includes links to news and updates, articles on COVID-19’s effect on the industry, and information and social media posts from myriad restaurants.
What are you hearing from bar and restaurant representatives since the March 17 statewide closure of bars and restaurants, except for carryout and delivery?
I think people are really struggling right now with the concept. Looking at this picture as whole, we’re happy that the restaurants have been allowed to stay open. Wisconsin easily could have shut down all of our restaurants, but by keeping restaurants open, that, to us, is a saving grace because these owners can still operate.
Now, from another angle, most restaurants out there have had to lay off their employees. There have been massive layoffs. We’re looking at 13,000 restaurants and drinking establishments in Wisconsin; you can only imagine how many service employees work there. The restaurant industry operates on such tight margins, and we’ve recently had this big bubble of new restaurants and expansions. We’ve seen this great growth in breweries and distilleries and restaurants, and this is just got to be a nightmare for those people.
Then you also look at our super clubs. We have a beautiful supper club scene here in Wisconsin, and I think those folks were already taxed with operating today. If we see 75% of our restaurants come back from this, that will be a positive. We’ll be lucky.
The overall focus so far has been on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting bars and restaurants—and understandably so—but how are these closures impacting artisan food producers and small manufacturers?
I was talking to a cheesemaker in northern Wisconsin, and he said that the way they make cheese, it’s aged, so they are in kind of in a good position. But he said that if he had a soft, fresh cheese, it could be a dangerous time right now because a lot of retailers are pulling back from those kinds of goods. I don’t think that industry has yet seen the full impact. Breweries are still making beer but limiting personnel. Some manufacturers are getting hit harder because of the amount of people that can be in a workspace at the same time. But I think those smaller businesses like bakeries that can still produce with only three or four people are still working; they just need people to buy their product. But I’ve heard of layoffs in that industry, as well.
What do you advise that people do to help during this crisis?
Eat out every day, if you can afford it. It’s easy, you call it in, and they’ll run it out to your car. Also, tip heavily! Now is the time we have to be really conscious of supporting our restaurant community and doing what we can. The way this situation is moving, by the time people read this interview, restaurants could all be closed. So, we have to take advantage and support them while we can. Gift cards are also huge. These are all things we can to do to help our local businesses. I think it’s critical right now.
One good thing that has come out of this is seeing our community come together, and the resilience of the people here. Business owners and consumers are coming together and doing what they can do to show support on social media and started community groups, Facebook pages and GoFundMe efforts. If there’s any positive here, people are coming together and helping each other. With the industry being so fragile, the industry needs support, or some of your favorite restaurants might not be there tomorrow.
