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chow | local habit

WE NEED BARS &

RESTAURANTS

by chris dennett

don’t know what the state of the world is as you are reading
this, but know what it is as I’m writing. I’m sitting at home in
week three of my mandatory “vacation.” It’s definitely going to
I last through the end of April, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m
not able to work again until June.

You see, I own businesses in the hospitality industry. On March 16,
I was ordered by the governor to shut my businesses for all onsite
customers. On the 17th, I laid off 13 people, shut one of the beer
bars in order to focus any to-go sales to only one location, and on
the 18th, I tried to see if to-go food from a restaurant that almost
never does to-go food was a viable model. Call it business triage.
My way of life, like so many other lives, was entirely dismantled in
the span of about two weeks.

But this isn’t a feel sorry for restaurant employees article. That’s just
some background on where our industry is at this moment, and why
the question of bars and restaurants is foremost in my mind. I want
instead to focus on the value of the physical spaces of restaurants and
bars, and what they mean to society and to our general well being.

Last year I wrote about eating and basic human connection, and
how fundamental eating is to the community experience and human
relationships. This is a further expression of those ideas, based in this
moment of stay at home orders and social distancing. I am struck
during this time of social distancing, that it’s more than just eating
and drinking with people. It’s also the public spaces where this can
happen that matter.

The physical spaces of the hospitality industry are vitally important
to humans. They have undergone changes over the years, but they’re
rooted in human experience, going back as far as a basic fire pit.
Public spaces and public interactions have always been important to
humans. It’s why we have parks, plazas, and other public spaces. It’s
also why we have bars and restaurants.

The public spaces of the hospitality industry are rooted in our
understanding of private spaces. If you’ve ever been to a party
at someone’s house, much of the event happens in the kitchen.
Modern open floor plans are designed to bring the living space into
the kitchen. The places where people congregate, prepare food, and
eat are essentially genetic memories that make up the fabric of what
it means to be human.

92 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2020