'Complete Nightmare,' Waukesha Restaurant Owner Says Of Pandemic

WAUKESHA,WI — "This by far has been the most challenging and hardest times ever to be in the restaurant business," said Tony Marquez, owner of La Estacion.

La Estacion, 319 Williams St., is one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in Waukesha and has been around for 28 years. The pandemic has caused many businesses to shutter as others struggle to survive.

"Sales are down, profits are down. It is just a nightmare," Marquez said.

He clarified that restaurants which already had a good built-in carryout system are faring better than most. Marquez told Patch the carryout restaurants are probably more profitable than the sit-down restaurants.

"For us, we are a destination spot and a sit-down place; 95 percent of our business was sit-down," he said.

La Estacion is located close to Carroll University and near the downtown Waukesha area. The Mexican restaurant is housed in an old train station and some adjoining old passenger train cars that have been converted into dining areas.

"People want an experience. They come in and have a drink and enjoy the food," Marquez said.

Gov. Tony Evers ordered the Department of Health Services to issue a "Safer at Home" order in March. The order banned all nonessential travel, with some exceptions.

Marquez said it costs him $700 just to open the doors of the restaurant. During the first few days of the order, La Estacion was making about $160 in sales a day. He told Patch everyone had to scramble and "start all over again" with social media and marketing to let customers know they were offering carryout.

"Slowly within two weeks, people started coming in for carryout, and our business was close to 80 percent," he said.

Marquez said the whole situation was a mess and he had to let go of all of the waiters, busboys and bartenders. Instead of working with five or six people in the kitchen, they only had two staff members.

"All of these guys [employees] lost a ton of money from not working," Marquez said.

Mandate headaches

The owner said the business built up a good clientele for the carryout business, and the community was very supportive.

Then the other shoe dropped.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state's "Safer at Home" order in May, stating that Evers' administration overstepped its legal authority when crafting the order. Under the ruling, the court concluded that the order was "unlawful, invalid and unenforceable."

"We were told to open back up tomorrow. All the other bars and restaurants got excited, but a lot of people were not ready," he said.

It cost the owner another few thousand dollars to get La Estacion ready with plexiglass and other sanitizing equipment. The result was lower sales as patrons were already frequenting other businesses or not ordering out for food as often.

In July, Evers declared a public health emergency and issued an emergency order requiring people to wear face masks when indoors and not in a private residence, with some exceptions.

Marquez said some people would become upset if asked to wear a mask. He said customers would either become angry or would leave the restaurant.

Another issue is the back-and-forth over capacity limits set by Evers. A Wisconsin appeals court on Oct. 23 temporarily blocked Evers' restrictions on indoor public gatherings, pending appeal. This was after a Wisconsin judge last week upheld and reissued an order from Evers' administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places to 25 percent of capacity.

The capacity limits order was issued Oct. 6 by Andrea Palm, secretary of the state Department of Health Services, in the face of surging coronavirus cases in Wisconsin. Evers said he was making the move to curb the spread of the virus as it spikes in Wisconsin.

Marquez said the on-and-off orders are confusing to patrons, and some may opt to just stay home out of fear of the coronavirus.

In the summer, things were better as there was an ample outdoor dining option. As the weather has chilled, fewer people want to eat outside.

"All the way around, it has been a complete nightmare," Marquez said.

Keep them engaged and hungry

Marquez has found a useful resource in social media. It allows him to connect with his loyal customers and keep them engaged on Facebook. La Estacion also comes up with meal packages for families and specials to attract traffic. Staff posts photos of food and asks patrons questions; because of the interaction, the number of comments has increased.

"What has saved us is being really engaged with our customers," he said.

Marquez attributes the social media attention to the fact that many people are staying home. He told Patch more people are on their phones and computers because they are bored. When they see something exciting or new, it creates traction.

"Before this, I was not a fan of Facebook. Now, it has really helped our business," Marquez said.

Some of the photos posted include homemade churros and hot chocolates the restaurant offers. Marquez said they are trying to come up with new and exciting items such as healthier options.

"We try to give the customer a twist on Mexican food and also with a healthy twist," he said.

With fewer people going to gyms or exercising, Marquez said people are looking for healthy things to eat.

La Estacion started offering salmon tacos with paprika, garlic pepper, mesquite seasoning and marinated in white wine. It is cooked with a little bit of avocado oil and topped off with roasted corn and slices of avocado.

"It is really good. People like it a lot," he said.