Take-out, delivery and drive-through services are OK
Many Methow Valley restaurants have closed, with some offering take-out options, after Gov. Jay Inslee imposed a statewide ban on in-house restaurant dining.
Inslee’s two-week ban took effect on Tuesday (March 17) and will be in place through March 31. The mandatory closure of in-house dining extends to restaurants, bars and taverns, wine, beer and spirits tasting venues, doughnut shops, ice cream parlors and coffee shops. Take-out, delivery, and drive-through food and beverage services are not banned; a variety of Methow establishments plan to operate in that capacity.
Cinnamon Twisp Bakery reopened on Monday, the day before Inslee’s ban went into effect, after a two-week closure due to maintenance. “People are calling and people are coming in,” said manager Kathy Carney. “[But] we’re limiting our production quite a bit.” In accordance with the ban, Cinnamon Twisp is offering take-out orders only, leaving the store feeling halfway open as the chairs were stacked on tables.
Two doors down, at the newly opened Linwood restaurant, the lights were not on for Monday night service. The money coming in from take-out only options did not cover running expenses, according to owner Adam Custis, who said his sales were down 68% on Sunday night, when Linwood opened for take-out only service.
“I looked at what we had left in the fridge, and the idea of spending several hundred dollars to restock it seemed like a very bad idea, and I decided to put the money towards rent,” said Custis. Linwood will stay closed, with plans to re-open once the ban has lifted.
According to Custis, one employee filed for unemployment on Monday, using the Washington State Employment Security Department’s newly implemented emergency rules to assist in temporary lay-offs, partial employment and SharedWork.
SharedWork allows the worker to have a part-time job while receiving unemployment, while standby, allows the worker to receive unemployment and not have to look for another job.
Up valley, the Mazama Store has closed its doors, offering walk-up window service.
“We hope that in choosing to restructure our services we can continue to safely provide for our community — both employees and customers,” the store noted in an email. “Our mission has always been to keep our community safe, healthy, and well provided. In order to keep with this mission, we believe that these are necessary steps to take.”
