On March 11th, the National Restaurant Agency predicted that the industry’s sales would reach a whopping $899 billion, implying a 4% bump from 2019. Six months later, on September 14th, the agency predicted the industry would lose 240 billion in sales by the end of 2020 (Chang, 2020). With shutdowns across the United States starting in late spring and continuing well into the summer, many restaurants have found it hard to remain in business. According to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Agency, over 100,000 restaurants have “closed either permanently or long-term,” nationwide as a result of COVID-19.  Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ed Thorndike and Karen Kaffen-Polascik, owners of Weswings and The Red & Black Cafe,  who are in the midst of their “busiest month in 30 years”. While restaurants across the nation are struggling, I couldn't help but think, what has made Karen & Ed's situation different?

Weswings or more commonly referred to as “Swings” has been serving meals on Wesleyan’s campus since 1991 when Ed Thorndike (‘89) and Karen Kaffen-Polascik opened up the operation in the basement of the former Delta Tau Delta house. The restaurant is known for its extensive offering of sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and wings in addition to its popular specials like its breakfast pail and the infamous Swings salmon. In addition to their Swings location, the partners founded Red & Black Cafe in 2003. As restaurants on a college campus, which are normally closed in the months of June and July, Swings and Red & Black’s COVID-19 circumstances are definitely unique from the circumstances faced by regular restaurants. However, this does not mean the past few months have been smooth sailing for Thorndike and Kaffen-Polascik.

With Swings entering its thirtieth year on campus, Kaffen-Polascik says that COVID-19 has “Definitely been the number one challenge we’ve had since we’ve been in business.”

In comparing the struggles of reopening this year to prior years, she noted,  “We kind of took for granted in the past that we just basically get a bunch of food, we get everybody together, and we open.” This year required much more planning as Thorndike and Kaffen-Polasick had to juggle a whole new set of variables and logistics. 

When walking into Swings today, you immediately notice the changes required for the restaurant’s Fall 2020 reopening. From the marked line spots on to the pavement, to the outdoor grill tent, to the plexiglass enclosure surrounding the counter to the rearrangement of the restaurant's interior, Kaffen-Polascik and Thorndike have taken numerous steps to create an environment that allows the Wesleyan community to pick up its beloved Swings’ food safely and efficiently. In addition to these more noticeable changes, Kaffen-Polascik often takes less noticeable precautions, discreetly prioritizing safety above the bottom line. “If we notice that we’re really filling up too much we pull people off the register. It’s a game of trying to get people in and out quickly, as well as making sure we’re not completely loaded inside.” The tactics and creativity employed by Thorndike and Kaffen Polascik are reflective of an industry wide trend. Restaurant owners everywhere have had to adapt to the rapidly changing times.

Tom Bené, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association said in a statement: “For an industry built on service and hospitality, the last six months have challenged the core understanding of our business…..Our survival for this comes down to the creativity and entrepreneurship of owners, operators, and employees.”  

In addition to creativity, Swings’ reopening would require extensive planning and flawless execution. Planning for the Fall 2020 reopening started as early as the spring. Thorndike recognized a need to stockpile certain materials well in advance. Swings remained ahead of the game throughout the late spring and summer months. In June, before the University had made any announcements regarding reopening, Thorndike and Kaffen Polascik were already in the process of working with Physical Plant to construct the large plexiglass enclosure for the restaurant’s countertop. It became clear to the two that “Everything was going to take longer than planned... We wanted to be as ahead of it as we possibly could” said Thorton.

Through the course of the pandemic, Swings not only looked out for itself but also for its employees and the greater Middletown community. On March 17th, Swings pledged to support its employees through the end of the semester, stating on their website: “During the shutdown due to Coronavirus, Karen & Ed, owners of both locations have committed to paying all non student full and part time employees up to 40 hours/week until the regularly scheduled summer break.” This was certainly not a small financial commitment, especially at a time where the restaurant was not bringing in any revenue. Despite this fact, Kaffen-Polascik and Thorndike remained committed to paying their 16 non-student employees through May. Thorndike spoke about the matter: “We were in a pretty good financial position when this all hit… Our first thought was making sure as stressful and as unsure as everything was going to be, that our staff didn’t have to worry about their next paycheck.” Ultimately, the government’s CARES Act rendered Swing’s employees better off collecting unemployment benefits as opposed to remaining on payroll for the rest of the semester. On March 27th, Swings announced on their website: “with the recent passage of the stimulus package, we will be making changes. The new law provides an additional $600/week of unemployment benefits on top of regular state benefits.” Anecdotally, Swings’ circumstances provide a potential explanation for the prolific growth in unemployment claims across the restaurant industry and economy in general. While many workers have been laid-off organically by financially struggling employers, individuals had stronger incentives to collect unemployment benefits instead of work, perhaps accelerating the growth of the unemployment rate. According to the Connecticut Department of Labor, the average weekly state unemployment benefit was $357 in July 2020, resulting in an average weekly total unemployment benefit (state & federal) of $957 (Connecticut Department of Labor, 2020). Yet in 2019, the average weekly wage for full-time food service workers was $548 - a much lower sum (Kullgren, 2020). 

In addition to supporting its employees, Swings has also helped out local hospitals. In April, when PPE (masks, gloves, etc) was hard to come by, Swings donated its supply of latex gloves to local hospitals. Later, when Swings had to replenish its supply for reopening, gloves were almost twice as expensive as normal. “A case of rubber gloves might cost you $40 a year ago and now, I’m lucky if I can get them for $80,” said Thorndike. Not only does this provide an example of Swings’ doing its part as a pillar of the community, but it also displays how COVID-19 has proven to be a double edged sword for many restaurants nationwide. Restaurants have seen dramatic changes in their revenue as well as increased expenses due to COVID-19.

Thorndike estimated the total amount of COVID-19 expenses between Swings and their Red & Black location was easily in the  “tens of thousands of dollars.”

He went on to add: “It felt like we were just hitting amazon and all of our suppliers just non-stop for months as we were trying to get everything we needed”.  

According to Thorndike, they expect October to be “WesWings’ busiest month in 30 years” as well as “the busiest month in Red & Black’s 17 years.”  While Thorndike noted that this is based off of a gross figure, in a year with higher expenses than normal, the founders seemed pleased with their recent numbers. After having spent an hour speaking with Thorndike and Kaffen-Pollascik, a few factors stick out contributing to their success . First off, I believe a large part of Swing’s success is largely attributable to Thorndike and Kaffen-Pollascik’s three decades of hard work; they are on the ground every day, serving meals with a smile. Additionally, Kaffen-Pollascik pointed out that more students seem to be dining on campus -  the restaurant has a unique position as an on campus dining option, in a year where student movement off-campus has been restricted. Lastly, Thorndike pointed out perhaps the most important factor contributing to their success: Wesleyan’s strong commitment to managing the virus. At Wesleyan, the most robust element of their COVID-19 management plan is its testing program.  Students and employees are tested twice a week, in addition to being required to follow a COVID Code of Conduct. So far, as of October 29th, this testing program has allowed Wesleyan to safely manage the virus.

“Overall, Wesleyan doing the testing program is what has made everything work” said Thorndike.

This testimony from a small business owner, really makes a great case for the importance of public health initiatives and their interconnectedness with financial and economic prosperity of small businesses like Swings. I find this obvious anecdotal interconnectedness in the case of Swings and The Red & Black Cafe especially interesting at a time when public health and economic initiatives have been pitted against each other. While implementing a testing program similar to Wesleyan’s on a national or state level would be incredibly expensive and probably not feasible logistically, I do think our nation could be doing a better job of committing to managing COVID-19. Through Wesleyan’s proper management of the virus, we are afforded a safer environment in which we can pursue certain freedoms and opportunities- something the vast majority of American’s have been denied due to the United State’s failed response to the pandemic. While Kaffen-Polascik and Thorndike’s success during this pandemic is nothing short of an anomaly for the restaurant industry and small business owners across the country, one thing is clear: the economic success of businesses big and small hinges on this country’s ability to manage this virus. 

Sources

Rachel Chang, and Rachel Chang.(September 17, 2020). “100,000 Restaurants Have Closed in the Last 6 Months During the Pandemic.” Travel + Leisure, www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/coronavirus-pandemic-restaurant-shutdowns. 

Office of Research, Department of Labor. “Connecticut Department of Labor's Office of Research.” www1.Ctdol.state.ct.us, www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/awiclaims2.asp. 

Kullgren, Ian. “Restaurants' Bailout Problem: Unemployment Pays More.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 21 Apr. 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/restaurant-bailout-unemployment-coronavirus-197326.