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After surviving a tough summer with rising inflation costs, restaurants in the Capital Region are preparing for another obstacle: Hurricane Francine.
Many local restaurants are closing on Wednesday with plans to reopen on Thursday if the weather and power conditions permit. Nick Escher, general manager of Elsie’s Plate & Pie, says the Government Street restaurant plans to transport all of its perishable goods to its walk-in freezer in case of a power outage. If the power goes out for a prolonged period and the food reaches a certain temperature, remaining perishables will be thrown out.
Escher is hopeful the Mid City restaurant won’t lose much revenue outside of the Wednesday it plans to be closed.
“This is a slow time of the year in general,” Escher says. “We’re going to have the weekend to recoup everything. If we’re open after the storm, people will come and eat here if they don’t have power like they’ve done before.”
On the other side of Government Street, Karen Vong, co-owner of the Asian dessert shop Sweet Society, is also relying on the store’s freezer to preserve the ice cream, produce and milk tea. Vong says in the case of a power outage, she doesn’t expect to lose much inventory because she didn’t order as much stock when she learned about the storm. She is optimistic she will be able to reopen on Thursday.
“For some of us, it’s a needed break,” Vong says about restaurant hurricane closures in Baton Rouge. “For others, it’s another challenge.”
CC’s Coffee House Senior Director of Operations Paul Claxton says the company adjusted delivery schedules with its vendors before the storm to ensure they were fully stocked. CC’s Coffee House locations in Baton Rouge closed early on Wednesday at 11 a.m. with plans to resume normal business hours on Thursday.
Gordon Sizemore, director of operations at BLDG 5, says the restaurant is prepping by clearing the patio of plants and furniture and securing remaining items to withstand high winds. He says the restaurant, located under the Perkins Overpass, is “bulking up” on sandbags to prevent indoor flooding. All of the pre-made meals and perishable items will also be moved to a commercial cooler. BLDG 5 plans to reopen on Thursday and will honor its reservations on Thursday and Friday.
“I think Baton Rouge restaurants are good at bouncing back from these kinds of storms,” Sizemore says. “We’ve been through floods and hurricanes, the successful businesses are the ones who are ready to adapt and do what’s necessary to take care of guests and team members.”
