Amid hard times, some Merced County businesses prepare to reopen after state approval

Wednesday morning marked the first day in weeks that Merced County restaurants and retailers were permitted to open for in-person patronage under state guidelines.

The news that the state approved Merced County to advance further through Stage 2 reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic came Tuesday evening.

“We’re excited,” County Supervisor Daron McDaniel told the Sun-Star. “We’ve been very stressed out about this for a while.”

The county’s first attempt at faster reopening had been denied after it failed to meet state criteria. Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom released new benchmarks to increase reopening to 53 of the state’s 58 counties -- including Merced.

This gives the green light for staged reopening of certain businesses with modifications:

Day 1 of approval: Retail spaces and dine-in restaurants may open their doors to customers, but areas like bars or gaming spaces must stay closed.

Day 5-7: Childcare facilities can reopen.

Day 10-14: Destination retail locations, like shopping malls and swap meets, can reopen if safe.

Reopening depends on the county’s epidemiological parameters remaining stable. If the COVID-19 situation significantly changes, openings may be rolled back.

As of Wednesday, Merced County has reported a total of 226 confirmed cases of coronavirus, up four from Tuesday, according to Merced County Department of Public Health. Of those, 137 residents have recovered and six have died.

Closures would likely take place on a sector-specific basis, public health officials said. For example, if a surge of cases is traced to childcare facilities, the state may require them to close again.

But Stage 3 businesses like hair and nail salons, churches and movie theaters still must wait. Newsom recently said it will be a couple more weeks for them to reopen.

Because of these limitations, the governor’s plan for reopening doesn’t go far enough, McDaniel said. He said local officials will continue to push the state on faster reopening.

“We’re not done,” McDaniel said. “This is just the next step.”

Businesses prepare to open

Robert Matsu, owner of Five Ten Bistro at 510 W Main St., Merced, is among those businesses prepping to reopen this week.

“We’re ready to go,” Matsu said. “We have no-touch sanitizers on all the walls, we’re following CDC guidelines, we’re ready to have customers back in.”

Other precautions include clearing tables of unnecessary items, screening employees to make sure they’re healthy and having signs for guests. Matsu estimated he’s cut 70 chairs between the restaurant’s interior and patio. He said he’s kept on three cooks and will bring back two or three servers.

Matsu said having to shut his doors due to the pandemic “killed” the restaurant.

“We lost 90% of sales,” he said. “Just in March, we lost $45,000 compared to last year. You don’t want to know about April.”

Matsu said he tried to open his restaurant two weeks ago, prior to the state approving Merced County restaurants to reopen. It was shut down within three days.

Despite now having the state’s approval to move forward, Matsu said hard times will persist.

“We get to open at half capacity but we still have to pay 100% of our bills,” he said. “We’re not working with a full restaurant. I have to pay the same cost if I’m running the air conditioner with two tables that I do with 20 tables. We have the same flat monthly rent or mortgage, but I can only sit people in half the restaurant because we have to keep the customers 6 feet apart.”

Vinnie DeAngelo, owner of Bella Luna Bistro at 350 W Main St., Merced, said he is waiting to see how patrons react before reopening his restaurant.

“You don’t want to open back up and be really, really slow,” DeAngelo said. “I’d lose more money. You don’t want it to be worse. Customer confidence is going to drive this thing. It’s going to take some time.”

He said he’s considering taking some reservations Friday, possibly with a changed menu. The restaurant is still offering takeout.

DeAngelo said the pandemic “annihilated” parts of his business. All catering events were canceled and the bar was shut down, leaving only takeout — the smallest part of his business — to operate.

“I’m losing money every minute,” he said.

New normal

The state’s approval means Stage 2 businesses can get the local economy moving again in a safe way, helping to combat the “serious economic impact of COVID-19,” said Dr. Kristynn Sullivan, Merced County public health supervising epidemiologist and operations chief.

But it doesn’t mean a return to business as usual.

Restrictions are outlined in the county health order, which follows state guidance. More robust guidelines for specific sectors are listed on the state’s website and will be linked to on reopenmercedcounty.com, Sullivan said.

Modifications for businesses include limiting capacity so individuals can social distance by 6 feet, providing hand washing stations or disinfectant, regularly cleaning surfaces and posting signs at entrances to inform employees and customers of requirements. Employees are encouraged to wear face coverings.

Sullivan said masking has been confusing for the public since recommendations changed to wearing one from against wearing one.

“What residents should know is that science is constantly evolving, and as more evidence comes forward the recommendations may change,” she said. “There is now quite a bit of evidence that for COVID-19 specifically, masking can be a very effective way of preventing the spread of the disease.”

Once opened, childcare facilities must operate in stable groups of 12 or fewer, meaning the same children are in the same group each day. If more than one group is cared for at a facility, the groups must be in separate rooms and cannot mix. Childcare providers also must remain with the same group of children.

When Stage 3 businesses start opening is up to the state. “They want to get to where the whole state is open at a Stage 2 level, and then pause one to two weeks to see what that looks like statewide,” Sullivan said.

Conversations are still taking place over whether some counties will have the opportunity to advance faster through Stage 3, she said.

Enforcement efforts against businesses opening ahead of schedule is up to individuals jurisdictions, Sullivan said. Some city police departments and the Merced County Sheriff have recently said they will not be enforcing COVID-19-related business closures.

But local officials have emphasized that they have no authority over protecting state business licenses. Businesses that open in defiance of the state could find their licenses in jeopardy, they say.

“(For) any business that maintains a state license of any kind, the state has put out very clear direction that if they open ahead of the state’s allowed schedule. . . they will potentially follow up and issue citations,” Sullivan said.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 6:02 PM.