Bed-Stuy Restaurants Struggle With Coronavirus Closures

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — An order to stop dine-in service at New York City restaurants over the new coronavirus forced a tough decision on managers at Brooklyn Beso.

"We have no choice," said Anya Joseph, the Bed-Stuy restaurant's general manager. "We literally have to cut back on all our front of house staff."

Eateries across Bed-Stuy and the city found themselves making cuts on Monday after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would order them to serve only takeout food.

Restaurant staff and managers expected Monday would be a last hurrah of sorts but were surprised by another announcement that morning, this time from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The dine-in shutdown would happen at 8 p.m., not the next day as de Blasio decreed.

"It just came really unexpected,” Joseph said.

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Joseph said she spent most of Monday on the phone and email, trying to get Brooklyn Beso on as many online delivery platforms as possible. It was a difficult task given the amount of apps — from Seamless, to Postmates, to Uber Eats and more — and information like menus that needed to be posted correctly, she said.

Brooklyn Beso did takeout and delivery before, but now it has to be all the Lewis Avenue and Macon Street Pan-Latin restaurant's business, Joseph said.

Another nearby Bed-Stuy restaurant is grappling with the shift from dine-in to delivery and takeout.

Peaches, a Southern comfort food eatery on Lewis Avenue and MacDonough Street, does about 90 percent of its business from sit-down customers, said staff member Michelle Joseph.

Michelle Joseph said she and her fellow workers depend on tips to make ends meet. The city needs to step up and help them, she said.

“If they’re going to shut everything down how are we going to eat, how are we going to pay our bills?” she said. "They’re telling us to stop working but who’s going to help us?"

Anya Joseph said Beso will take things one day at a time. Until the coronavirus blows over, she said the restaurant will run extended hours from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. to meet delivery needs.

"Obviously, the first thing is making sure that everyone is safe, our customers as well as our staff," she said.

More information about Peaches can be found at the restaurant's website. Information about Brooklyn Beso's changes will be found on its Instagram and other social media.

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