'Yet Another Nail In The Coffin' For Bridgewater Restaurants

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy's latest restrictions "is yet another nail in the coffin for many restaurants in Bridgewater and around the State," said Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench.

Murphy announced Monday that bars and restaurants must close all indoor service by 10 p.m. and there will be no more barside seating as of Thursday. Outdoor dining, takeout and delivery services may continue beyond 10 p.m., and enclosed, heated outdoor tents can be put up outside. Read More: Gov. Murphy: NJ COVID-19 Numbers Going In 'Wrong Direction'

Many restaurants and bars in the Bridgewater-area are fearful they may not survive this winter with yet another new restriction.

"I am not happy. We've been holding up OK, but now we can't have anyone seated at the bar," said Meg Brown, bar manager at Thirsty's Restaurant and Tavern off Route 202 in Branchburg.

Brown has worked as a bartender at Thirsty's for 44 years and says she has "never, ever in my entire time here had to deal with such baloney."

"It's not good," Brown said. "When we first had to shut down on March 16 we were able to do take out only then outdoor dining. But the weather is going to be too cold. We had tents but this latest storm had blown down all the tents. ... It's not good. Hopefully we will get through this but we just don't know. It's a shame it really is."

Natalie Pineiro with the Downtown Somerville Alliance echoed Brown's sentiments.

"I think a lot of our businesses are currently struggling especially restaurants to figure out how they will make it through the next 4 or 5 months until they start rolling out a vaccine," Pineiro said. "The state is consistently pushing restrictions on businesses but hasn't rolled out relief for them in terms of easing up restrictions to allow businesses to continue outdoor dining."

In June, Somerville asked the NJ Department of Transportation for permission to close the state highway to allow more space for outdoor dining. That was rejected. Read More: Somerville Looks To Close Route 28 For Outdoor Dining

Pineiro said the alliance had even invested $30,000 to create extended space for outdoor dining in parking spaces but were told to remove them by the state in case of snow.

"We had set up wooden platforms and enclosures to separate diners from traffic. We had barricades as well, we spent a lot of money constructing those. And then we had to hire someone within 24 hours to remove them," Pineiro said. "It is not just devastating for businesses that had that extra seating but it was an additional expense to remove them."

The Alliance recently launched the DSA Small Business Rebound Fund for those who have suffered economic injury due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Applications for the program can be found at DowntownSomerville.com.

Additionally, some are questioning how the state's new restrictions will help contain the virus.

"I think there is no one that is happy about these new restrictions. We understand that there is a need to control the spread of COVID but I think there is a little bit of confusion about how closing a bar at 10 p.m. and preventing people from sitting at a bar will really resolve that issue," Pineiro said.

"I would like to see the data that indicates that a reduction of indoor dining hours will affect the transmission of the virus," Moench said. "I suspect this is another arbitrary restriction that will reap untold consequences for these business owners and their employees."

Salted Lime in Somerville took to Facebook to share their concerns over the new restrictions.

"We agree the health and safety of our guests and staff are paramount but the fashion in which NJ Restaurants are being singled out and forced to carry the weight of the pandemic prevention is idiotic. We're simply asking for better solutions to this problem other than us being the sacrificial lambs," according to a post by Salted Lime Restaurant.

To keep afloat some restaurants, such as Chimney Rock Inn off Thompson Avenue in Bridgewater, will be relying on their take-out and delivery services.

"It's not going to hurt our business since we do really well with delivery and take out," said Alli DeLuca, marketing coordinator for Chimney Rock of the restrictions. "We are affected by it but not tremendously."

DeLuca noted that the take out business has "definitely been pretty consistent but nothing has been as high as when the pandemic was first happening."

Murphy announced Tuesday that New Jersey hit its highest daily case total since April – 3,877 – and the state's highest death toll since July: 21. Read more: Gov. Murphy Vetoes Coronavirus Bill, Signs 7 Others Into NJ Law

As of Tuesday, Bridgewater is reporting 17 new positive coronavirus cases. There have been a total of 686 positive cases and 67 deaths in Bridgewater since the pandemic began in March.

Countywide, there have been 7,140 cases of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. There have also been 525 confirmed deaths and 75 probable deaths.

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