'About 40% of local bars will probably not reopen', hospitality expert says about D.C.

Keep in mind most businesses are not just closed but bars and restaurants had refrigerators and walk-in freezers filled with thousands of dollars worth of food and meats. All of that is gone.

The majority of curbside, carry-out, and delivery has added additional costs. Packaging and third party delivery service are very expensive, they can charge 25-35 percent of the order. Restaurants and bars are simply not making any money and losing tens of thousands of dollars each day.

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Popular TV host and hospitality expert Jon Taffer views this challenge as “Resetting America”.

He predicts a third of the population in D.C. comes back as soon as bars and restaurants open. What happens after that will be critical.

Taffer says if we are preconditioned to be safe and bars and restaurants are preconditioned to function safely, he thinks we get through this. It's going to be a slow climb though.

He believes the days of 20 people lined up at a 30-foot bar are gone. The capacity reduction could be 50-60 percent in some cases.

Taffer is very concerned about the small bars in the District and around the country.

“I hate to throw a number like this out but I will do it for you. It’s an ugly number, I think it’s about 40% of local bars will probably not reopen. And I think the number is closer to 50% for small local restaurants because they have higher operating expenses than bars do typically,” says Taffer.

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He thinks business owners have to start thinking about the future.

What happens next, how do businesses prepare for the moment the crisis subsides and how can bars and restaurants get ahead of this and come out on top?

The Bar Rescue host suggests that owners should not spend money now, hold resources so they can re-open effectively and have money in the bank to sustain operations once the pandemic ends.

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Taffer lived and owned his first business here in Washington.

He owned the Bartender’s Academy on K Street.

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