tv Nightline ABC May 8, 2020 12:06am-12:37am PDT
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i'm still working on it, but you get the gist. goodnight. this is "nightline." tonight, ready to go. restaurants across america crippled by covid-19, now trying to get back to business. what they're doing to keep you safe. >> we've got a timer going off every 30 minutes, and everybody makes a beeline to the hand sinks. >> as they try to keep the lights on and their neighborhoods fed. plus, checking in with chipotle. how they are navigating the covid-19 crisis, learning from past pit falls and now serving up success, investing in digital and delivery. >> "nightline," bringing america back starts right now with juju chang. >> good evening, thanks for joining us.
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tonight, bringing america back with a hot meal and a warm smile. the many faces behind the restaurant business, slowly reopening their doors. 3.2 million more americans filing jobless claims last week. so many of them working in the hard-hit food industry. now the all hands on deck effort to turn the >> five minutes until our first wave of first-time customers arrive. >> dinner time rush looks a little different for these partners, what was once a night out is just a drive by. >> we're calling it family meal. >> they're relaunching their trendy chicago pacif. >> it's $55 and feeds a family of three or four, and you drive by, and a server from the
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restaurant comes out in glove, drops it in your trunk and you drive away. >> it's a risky move. what keeps you up at night? >> where do i smart the employees are number one for sure. the other thing, recently, is how to restart. >> that's the question facing so many across the country right now as states navigate how best to get back to work. now more than two-thirds of the nation's governors are allowing business in some form to open back up. restaurants crippled by the crisis. by some estimates losing over $225 billion due to the pandemic. the national restaurant association estimating 8 million layoffs. two-thirds of all the jobs lost in march were in food service. >> we're on life support right now. >> while the stimulus packages have included relief for restaurants there was a sharp outdry that big chains were
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benefitting over moms and pops. now although some allow dining in, it's with capacity restrictions. from the small businesses battling to hold on to the beloved southern chain that's an economic bellwether, and the workers impacted the most. >> i could never imagine that come may i still wouldn't be working. >> we're opening up a completely different restaurant, with very, very limited resources and huge unknowns. >> since opening in 2018, pacific standard time has garnered a lot of fanfare. the 8200 square foot eatery has an open kitchen floor plan, complete with wood burning fire ovens. >> people were breaking bread together and sharing food and really feeling like a family and community. >> reporter: when the pandemic hit, what did that do to your business? >> right before we got the shelter in place orders, i think we were down, i would say, maybe 60% or 70% that last weekend
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that we operated. we had about 90 full-time and part time employees at the time. and we furloughed all but eight. >> reporter: did you apply for any of the stimulus money? >> yes, we did apply for the ppp loan. it's very, very murky. >> reporter: after closing for more than six weeks, food is back in the kitchen. >> hey, ben, what are you doing? >> cutting bacon. >> reporter: but some things are not on the menu, like masks and temperature checks. >> we've got a timer going off every 30 minutes, and everybody makes a beeline to the hand sinks. >> reporter: of your 90 employees, how many are you able to bring back? >> approximately 25 to 30%. >> reporter: at the end of their first day, only 86 meals sold. >> seeing a lower than expected
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turnout on this first night, it's a little bit nerve-wracking. if the restaurant doesn't get some oxygen it could get dire here in the next couple weeks. >> reporter: restaurants have only a 30% chance of survival if this crisis lasts for more than four months. what do you make of that? ? >> i think it's spot on. i would put it at a four-week decision period. >> reporter: camilla marcus owns a community sustainable restaurant in new york city. her restaurant now closed. she fears it may never come back. she along with other members of the end pend restaurant coalition have become advocates arguing that it is so crucial for economic recovery that it deserves its own bailout. >> i was asking for $120 billion for all our industries. we are working with every state that is critical.
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>> reporter: in new york city to the lonestar state. this waffle house just outside houston has just reopened its doors to dean-ine-in customers. >> i'd rather sit down and eat, actually, rather than take it home. it's boring. >> it's the waffle house. you don't need a reason. >> reporter: they have a reputation of keeping its griddles hots even during the worse of times. >> we've always been essential workers in hurricanes, snowstorms ice storms, we've always been here. >> reporter: fema uses the restaurants as an indicator for how dire the circumstances are, the so-called "waffle house index." the manager has been here for 20 years. >> if we close a waffle house down, it means it's pretty bad. >> reporter: the chain closed nearly 700 restaurants while keeping about 1250 locations like this one open. offering to-go orders.
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>> waffle house people are very resilient. so we come up with ways. we've sold groceries within the restaurant. >> reporter: torres says health and safety is the priority. >> we sanitize door handles, the tabletops. every other booth is blocked off for social distancing. this is a touchless menu each customer can use. >> reporter: for customers like gloria, these measures bring her confidence. >> it's very important for me. not only am i immuno-depressed d but i just had surgery. ten-days post surgery. >> reporter: meanwhile, in las vegas, a future relies on going out. dedra young. >> when servers do go back to work is very, very hard. >> reporter: she is a bar tender at an irish pub on the strip.
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>> i said i want to be just like my mom. >> reporter: but on st. patrick's day her pub closed and she's been laid off ever since. the pub eventually areopened for takeout. her husband works his construction job on shortened hours. >> unemployment itself runs out, i want to say at the end of june. we kind of do live paycheck to paycheck. we used the whole stimulus check on the house. if you didn't have us, you wouldn't have the las vegas strip. we are the light of las vegas. we are what keeps it going. >> reporter: it's said that a good restaurant will not only feed your body, it will nourish your soul. >> one of our best customers over here. >> i love this place. >> one of our slogans is, come in and experience.
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>> how are you doing? >> anybody that comes in, we welcome them, we are literally friends to strangers. >> reporter: last month there were no strangers to make friends with here at portofino's. >> it wasn't easy, but we adjusted. >> reporter: tony and antonio own this local greek-italian eatery. they received a little over $100,000 from the paycheck protection program which has helped. last week they were allowed to go back to full-service, and they're off to a pretty good start. >> i can tell you, we are maybe 85%. so we're doing very good. >> reporter: tennessee is allowing restaurants to reopen at 50% dining capacity. with tables spread at least six feet apart and no more than six guests per table. >> most of the stuff we've already been doing. >> reporter: masks are not required for customers, but the
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state has set a few best practices for restaurants, starting right when the patrons walk in. >> hello, how you doing? >> doing good. >> have you been exposed to covid-19? >> no, sir. >> have you had any symptoms? >> no, sir. >> have you had a fever in the last 48 hours? >> no. >> welcome. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: tony asked ten of his servers to return, but only three said yes. >> hi, how are you? >> reporter: for roxie sandage the decision to come back was a no-brainer. >> i got a family, a 78 year old mother and senior in high school. so my bills go on. >> reporter: pars of her job have changed. that bright smile hidden behind a mask, but she feels a love from her regulars all the same. >> the tips have been substantially better. people realize. i've never seen happier, more appreciative customers in my
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life, andive addone this for 38 years. >> reporter: although portofino's is back up and running, its sister home-style restaurant is not reopening. despite that loss, both tony and antonio remain confident with their decision, offering this advice. >> don't give up. >> especially if you love what you're doing, it will come back, and it will come back stronger. and coming up, one on one with the ceo of chipotle. how the mexican grill chain is harnessing the power of technology and door to door deliveries to bounce back from covid. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take h-i-v treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable
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can no longer transmit h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. only roomba uses 2 multi-surface rubber brushes to clean all your floors. and with patented dirt detect technology, roomba finds dirt throughout your home. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba. there are so many toothpastes out there, which one should i use? try crest pro/active defense. it neutralizes bacteria for a healthier mouth than even the leading multi-benefit toothpaste.
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to eligible members so they can take care of things like groceries before they worry about their insurance or credit card bills. right now is the time to take care of what matters most. like we've done together, so many times before. discover all the ways we're helping members at usaa.com/coronavirus chipotle. it's a rare bright spot in the otherwise bleak outlook for restaurant chains. from meat shortages to past pit falls, they are navigating by taking the fast casual concept digital. earlier earlier i spoke with the ceo of
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chipotle. how are you handling the food supply chain? wendy's announced shortages? >> we've been fortunate, our supply chain has held up. obviously we've had spot outages here and there, but our staff have handled this. we've been very fortunate with all of our supply, whether it's paper products all the way to chick p a chicken and avocados. we're in good shape. >> are you seeing, i know there's concern in this area, meat prices going up, and should consumers expect to see a price increase on their meals? >> our prices have remained relatively stable. we have no plans to raise prices in our restaurants, we think anything that does occur would be temporary in nature. as of now we're feeling good
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about the way we're priced. >> chipotle is a rare bright spot in the restaurant industry hit so hard by covid. how are you able to convert to pickup and delivery so quickly? >> we've been investing in the last couple years on our digital access. can you order on the app, on the web. and we have grab and go or delivery, both that are pretty much contactless or can be contactless. we've invested to have a dedicated kitchen support all that access. and the adoption of consumer behavior just ramped up. and most recently in the month of march we had like 100% increase in our digital business. >> and now digital is like 70% of your business. but chipotle also weathered the e. co e. coli contamination years back. what steps are you taking now to fight covid? >> that was an unfortunate time
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for our company. and we have adopted a culture of being a leader in food safety and employee wellness. and that really prepared us well for the covid situation, from a health and wellness standpoint. we were already doing wellness checks on our employees. obviously, we had to include symptoms associated with covid. we were already providing hand sanitizer in the restaurant when people came in through the front door. the hand sanitizers were available in the back of the restaurant, our team members knew about the protocols of hand washing. we already had the principle that no employees need to work if they're not feeling well. we provide paid sick leave, we put in place air filtration systems to really support our customers and employees. and, as we learn more about ways to keep our employees healthy and safe like the addition of masks now. we'll continue to invest in our people to keep them healthy and safe. >> i know you've been conservative and kept your
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dining rooms closed, given workers bonuses. have you had to lay off employees? and how do you see the route to the future? >> we're a unique restaurant company in the fact that we own all our restaurants, we have 85,000 employees part of the culture and family. and we've been able to keep really, just about all of our restaurants open. we increased hourly pay, started in march, goes through the month of may. we were able to provide bonuses and enhanced all the been fits around telemedicine and access to mental health benefits as well. >> moving forward, how do you see the transition to dine in again? >> look, our path back is going to be one we're going to take our time with on opening the dining rooms. we'll be partnering with local public health officials, government and the cdc. because we want to make sure as we open the dining room we're doing our part to contain the virus. through the collaboration of all those that i mentioned, we're going to come out in a place where we're executing the
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and finally tonight, adding the ingredient of love. hard at work, chef mark garcia and his employees at kasaki, a sushi restaurant in new york city stepping up to feed the health care heroes fighting covid-19. prepping 50 meals and delivering them to essential workers at mt. sinai hospital, forever grateful for their neighbors. rolling in when they need them most. and we salute you. that's "nightline" for tonight. you can watch all of our full episodes on good night, america.
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reporting again from my house. this kind of tells you all you need to know about how it's going for me. last night, netflix recommended that i watch what i eat. here in california certain types of stores will be allowed to open in a limited capacity starting tomorrow. just in time for the most confusing day of the year for mike pence --mother's day. the captain of the space force was in alexandria, virginia today. you see here he is with no mask on, wheeling boxes of ppes into a health care center. and doing his best to lift them. what a hero. just barely in the door. and since it was going so well, and also because he didn't realize he had a mic on, magic mike decided to keep it going. listen in closely here. >> is this for the camera? >> jimmy: mike pence pretending to carry empty boxes into a health care center, what a ho.
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