Coronavirus-related restrictions and closures have taken a toll on many Massachusetts businesses, and for restaurants — which operate on low margins and rely on steady customers to stay afloat — the situation is especially tenuous. Following a statewide order to operate as take-out or delivery only, some local establishments have decided to shut down entirely for the coming weeks.
Joanne Chang, chef and co-owner of Flour Bakery and Myers + Chang, which will shut down through early April, told Jim Braude on WGBH News' Greater Boston Tuesday that the decision to close was necessary to keep her staff and the broader community safe.
“It's like a Twilight Zone scenario and there's no rulebook on what's right and what's wrong," she said. "Everybody’s trying to do what’s right for everybody.”
Chang said her restaurants initially planned to remain open for take-out orders, but ultimately decided the risk factors were too high.
“Most of the staff, they come to work via the T," Chang explained, referring to the MBTA public transportation system. "We don’t know … what types of sanitary practices the guests are practicing."
Chang added that while restaurant closures are important to slow the spread of the virus, the moratorium on eating out leaves a big hole in the community.
“What we do is feed people and try and bring joy and happiness to people," Chang said. "Right now, it’s really hard because we can’t do it anymore. I think we’re all just trying to do the right thing ... to make sure that there is an amazing Boston community for us to reopen to.”
