Workers who rely on tips are weighing their options as Indiana restaurants reopen to on-site customers.
A co-founder of the Indy Hospitality Coalition says money and wellness are two factors that might make employees pause before returning to work.
“We are making a decent amount on unemployment,” said Alexis Gillen, who helped launch the coalition in March to support restaurants affected by the coronavirus pandemic and to provide information to servers, bartenders, cooks and other workers. “But it’s also an industry that doesn’t generally have health insurance. For you to sit at home, it’s a lot safer.”
Nearly 700,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance have been filed in Indiana since mid-March. Because of enhanced unemployment benefits made available during the pandemic, servers and bartenders may have more guaranteed income at home than at a workplace where capacity is capped at 50%. In most Indiana counties, not including Marion County, dining room capacity is set to increase to 75% June 14.
The minimum cash wage for Hoosier restaurant workers is $2.13 per hour. Additional customer tips supply most of what a server or bartender makes.
But the spread of the novel coronavirus is still a concern as restaurant employees interact with customers. Staff members know their own regimen of safety precautions, but those taken by guests aren’t a sure thing.
After nine weeks of being out of work, Gillen picked up a server shift May 22. Her employer, the Ball & Biscuit, reopened on Mass Ave. for outdoor food and drinks as allowed by Marion County guidelines.
“We all want to get back to work,” Gillen said. “In this industry, you go from job to job and you’re constantly working. This is a totally different thing. We were told to sit down and not come to work. That’s not something people in this industry know how to do. People are trying to figure out what’s best for their health and their families.”
Some restaurant owners have taken steps to lessen the dilemma for staff members by paying workers during the closures and even paying a higher wage to workers who come back.
Vess Ruhtenberg, a prominent Indianapolis musician who works as a server at Cafe Patachou, is collecting unemployment for the first time — sidelined because his jobs aren't geared for social distancing.
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“I feel like writing a ‘thank you’ letter to the government for helping me at this trying time,” he said of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that supplements state unemployment benefits with an additional $600 a week through July.
While planning to return to work at the restaurant, Ruhtenberg said he has mixed feelings about the financial and health prospects of the coming weeks.
“You start thinking, ‘If this keeps going, what are we going to do?’ ” he said. “At the same time, I’m afraid to go back to work. And only a crazy person wouldn’t be. It’s strange. I’m as eager to get back as I am trepidatious. I don’t have wisdom to impart, but I certainly have fear and excitement.”
To work or not to work?
Taxman Brewing Co. co-owner Nathan Huelsebusch said his restaurants in Bargersville, Fortville and Indianapolis have offered overtime shifts since reopening because a limited number of workers accepted the chance to come back.
“About 50% of our staff said, ‘You know what, we’re not really in a position where we’re comfortable coming back,’ " Huelsebusch said, "either as a result of the virus or more likely it’s a financial situation where they just don’t feel like they’re able to make the same amount of money."
On June 1, Marion County restaurants were allowed to reopen to indoor diners at 50% capacity. A reduced pool of potential tipping customers probably isn't attractive, Huelsebusch said, to hospitality workers who are collecting from $800 to almost $1,000 a week in unemployment checks.
“With limited capacity it’s almost impossible for us to compete with that type of benefit,” said Huelsebusch, who opened Taxman's CityWay location with his wife, Leah, last November.
According to University of Chicago research, 68% of workers on unemployment insurance are making more in jobless benefits than they did at work. Hoosiers who decline to return to work when work is available risk being disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.
"Claimants placed on a temporary layoff related to COVID-19 must return to work if called back to remain eligible for benefits," Indiana Department of Workforce Development commissioner Fred Payne said during an April 30 press conference.
Indianapolis resident Misty Heavilin said the CARES Act weekly supplement kept her "head above water" in the weeks she's been unable to work as a bartender at a local fine-dining membership club. When the establishment reopens, Heavilin said she expects part-time workers will be offered shifts before her and fellow full-time personnel as a way of measuring staffing needs.
Heavilin would like to see the federal government authorize a second round of stimulus funds to match the $1,200-per-person payments approved in March.
“The $600 a week is helpful for those who aren’t able to work,” she said, "but there are those who are able to work who are still struggling financially."
Restaurants raise the ante
Taxman elevated its server minimum wage to $15 per hour as an incentive to work during the reopening phases of reduced capacity. The restaurants in Johnson and Hancock counties reopened before Taxman's Indianapolis location.
Huelsebusch said customers are coming out and tipping generously.
"We’re seeing our teams making what they were accustomed to making (in tips)," he said, "which is usually $18 to $24 an hour."
At Iozzo's Garden of Italy, 946 S. Meridian St., owner Katie Harris said she's used a Payroll Protection Program loan to compensate employees even when the restaurant has been closed to the public.
Following three to four weeks of worker furloughs, Iozzo's called on employees to rejoin the staff April 20.
"I had 12 members of my staff who were relying on tips for their income," Harris said. "I basically paid them as much as they were making before, which is a little more than the current unemployment benefits."
Harris said nearly all the workers returned. In advance of the June 1 reopening, they worked on projects such as cleaning and disinfecting the restaurant.
Moving forward into the unknown
Including indoor and outdoor seating, Iozzo's has 24 tables available to customers. Harris said a level of uncertainty accompanies the challenge of operating at 50% capacity.
“Are we going to have enough guests come in to not only support the staff but to support the restaurant?” said Harris, who said she's secured an Economic Injury Disaster Loan in addition to the Payroll Protection Program funds.
Cafe Patachou server Ruhtenberg said there are flaws to reopening restaurants at half capacity.
"It’s forcing everybody to be in a bad business scenario," he said. "Employees will be varying degrees of scared, and customers will be varying degrees of compliant, as people are. It just seems like it could make things more stressful and less income-oriented than need be."
At the same time, Indy Hospitality Coalition co-founder Gillen said servers and bartenders face a scarcity of jobs as permanent closures of local restaurants add up during the pandemic.
Gillen and coalition co-founders Suzanne Pearcy and Heather Storms are helping members with resume building and interview tips – skills that may lead to work outside the hospitality industry.
"A lot of companies don’t understand the skills a restaurant worker has," Gillen said. "The multi-tasking, the organization, the customer service. Everything that goes into a restaurant. Every person is really doing every job. That would translate into something that’s not in this industry, but it needs to be given a chance."
The dining experience
Heavilin, who tends the bar and manages dining room servers at a membership club, said returning to work means an increased possibility of becoming ill.
"It’s frustrating to think about worst-case scenarios," she said. "I will wash my hands, I will sanitize, I will clean. Employees are 100% on board. We’re there to take care of our guests the best we can. But I don’t see 100% of the guests being on board, unfortunately."
Ball & Biscuit server Gillen said about one in 15 people visiting businesses on Mass Ave. wear face coverings. Health experts recommend everyone wear face coverings to reduce exposure to respiratory droplets.
It's standard operating procedure for restaurant workers to wear face coverings.
"Serving is tough," Taxman co-owner Huelsebusch said. "Serving with a mask on, especially on a hot patio, is very tough. If it’s 80 to 85 degrees and you’re not getting air it can be difficult."
Taxman's list of health precautions includes temperature checks for employees, newly cleaned glassware with every drink that's served and consistent wiping of menus.
Huelsebusch said customers appear pleased to have renewed access to the restaurant experience and its service component.
"I think people are happy to be with friends and family again," he said, "in a place where they can be taken care of."
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Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at dave.lindquist@indystar.com or 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.
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For health and financial reasons, tipped employees see dilemma in returning to work - IndyStar
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