MADISON, Wis. – Wednesday marks one year since Governor Tony Evers ordered that Wisconsin bars and restaurants shut their doors to customers at the start of the pandemic.
The order, which went into effect at 5 p.m. March 17, 2020, left a usually-bustling State Street empty on St. Patrick’s Day.
“At first we were like, in shock,” said Joe Perkins, owner of Tutto Pasta. “I don’t think anybody expected it. I don’t think anybody expected it to last that long.”
Last year, Nick’s Restaurant and Lounge Owner Dino Christ told us it was unlike anything he’s ever seen.
“I still feel the same way,” he said a year later. “As a matter of fact, even more so now. I would consider myself extremely naïve as to when it first started.”
Christ and other bar and restaurant owners were ushered into a brand new world where the unknowns piled up far more quickly than food and drink orders.
“Literally every week was a brand new week of, OK we gotta adjust to this, we gotta change this,” Christ said. “There were definitely some difficult weeks. Some scary weeks.”
After a year of firsts, Wednesday brought the second strange St. Patrick’s Day at Nick’s Restaurant. This year, they were able to be open at reduced capacity. In a normal year, Christ said that lunch and dinner would be packed.
“We are not going to fill up this year,” he said.
Federal aid has helped Christ, along with a GoFundMe page. He said he’s thankful for those who donated to help them get through a tough winter. They’ve also beefed up their takeaway orders in the past year.
Christ now has a takeaway of his own: “How incredibly quickly the world can change overnight.”
It’s a world that’s still changing — Perkins now hopes, for the better.
“I’ve had enough negative outlook last year, that I’m not doing that anymore,” Perkins said. “I’m going for positives. This is happening, now this is what we can do.”
Now instead of positive COVID-19 cases, he’s keeping track of vaccination numbers, preparing for the day Tutto Pasta can go back to full capacity. He and his business partner have been working longer hours to stay open, and he wants to get normal hours back to his staff.
“The staff’s been phenomenal,” Perkins said. “We’ve lost servers, but that’s because we don’t have the tables for them, but our kitchen staff is pretty much intact. They’ve been great. They’ve weathered the storm.”
He said they’ve learned a lot adding takeout options, but he’s ready to get back to normal.
“But I’m also a father of six children that takes to heart that I want it done safely,” Perkins said, adding that vaccinations will pave the way.
It’s still unclear what a post-pandemic world will look like, but Christ feels lucky Nick’s will be around for it.
“I’m at a very happy place now that all my loved ones are fine and that we’re still around,” he said. “My condolences to all the families that lost loved ones. I would have never in a million years guessed that many people would have lost their lives.”
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