UES Bars Brace For Lost Business Amid Coronavirus Shutdown

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Upper East Side bar owner James Gerding didn't need to hear the proclamations from City Hall or Albany to know that he was going to have to close down East 85th Street Irish Pub Ryan's Daughter, so he decided to shut his business down Sunday morning.

Gerding, like every other bar owner across the state, will be required to keep his business closed for the foreseeable future starting at 8 p.m. Monday night. The initiative was announced Monday morning by Gov. Andrew Cuomo just after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a similar initiative the night before. Restaurants will be required to close everything but the kitchen for takeout and delivery service.

"I'm here 20 years, I started as a bartender in 1999 coming up as 10 years as owner. Faced with everything that was coming in middle of last week I knew it was coming," Gerding told Patch.

The bar owner added that he wasn't disappointed with the city and state governments for forcing him to close because it's a responsible move that prioritizes public health. The current spread of coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis that requires unprecedented measures, the Ryan's Daughter owner said.

"This isn't like the blackout, or 9/11 or Sandy and [staying open] is not the appropriate way for a business like mine to help out," Gerding said.

Employees at Ryan's Daughter, most of whom rely on tips to supplement their incomes, will be advanced their next few paychecks to help make up for lost income while the business is closed, Gerding said. In the meantime, Ryan's Daughter will receive a deep clean and the closure may present an opportunity to make progress on some needed repairs.

Another longtime Upper East Side water hole, Bar Coastal, had been feeling the effects of lost business due to the cancellation of major sporting events, but was able to make just enough in the past few days to pay all of its debts before the mandated shutdown. Owner Jason Catlin said that he believes his business will hold strong for at least 90 days, but said predicting the future beyond that is difficult.

Today's razor-thin margins in the bar and restaurant business, largely influenced by the cost of rent, mean that any prolonged closure has the chance to put neighborhood small businesses in danger of permanent closure, Catlin said.

"Twenty years ago when our rent was, you know $9,000 you could make mistakes you could have bad weeks. I mean, if we were closed for three months we'd incur $27,000 in debt. Now your rents are 18 or 20 thousand and there's just no room for that, to exponentially grow while you're closed. So, look, I mean, the landlords, I'm sure would rather work with us on our return, that have empty stores and not collect any rent, they're probably going to have to offer a reduction in rent," Catlin said.

Bar Coastal has a kitchen, but Catlin said keeping it open for food delivery wouldn't be worth the costs. The business owner also feels it's irresponsible to continue telling employees to travel to work and put their health at risk.

Both Catlin and Gerding said the Upper East Side is in for major changes to the neighborhood's way of life due to the large amount of bars and restaurants in the neighborhood.

"I would not be surprised to find out that someone's running a prohibition style bathtub gin party somewhere. You know, people seem to find a way this neighborhood people are loyal," Catlin said. "Hopefully the diners and stuff that do heavy, heavy, heavy take out when they scale down their business, you know, stay profitable so they continue to do it."

Said Gerding: "I hope people take care of each other. This has never happened before. I'm worried about me, I'm worried about the neighborhood."