Last week, many area restaurants quickly responded to the COVID-19 crisis, taking precautionary measures by increasing sanitation efforts, printing disposable menus, sanitizing surfaces, and distancing tables.

As concern heightened throughout the weekend, some restaurants announced voluntary closures, including Fells Point businesses Max’s Taphouse, Kooper’s Tavern, and The Horse You Came in On Saloon.

Tony Foreman, whose Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group owns Charleston, Petit Louis, Cinghiale, Bar Vasquez, and Johnny’s, says there was a major downturn in diners over the weekend.

“Saturday night was fine, but you could feel it coming,” he says. “On a typical Sunday at Johnny’s we do 150 to 180 dinners. Last night we did 35.”

And then today, the hammer dropped.

While many restaurants continued to weigh what to do, Governor Larry Hogan ordered the closing of all Maryland bars and restaurants by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 16 to slow the spread of COVID-19. The deadly virus has wreaked havoc on businesses across the state—and nowhere is this more acutely felt than in the restaurant industry, a business based on social contact.

According to figures from Resy, a national reservation platform for higher-end restaurants, as of last Wednesday business was down by 20 percent across the United States from a year ago, by 30 percent in New York City, and as much as 60 percent in Seattle, with the highest reported number of cases and deaths in the country.

At his press conference Monday morning, the governor said the unprecedented steps “may seem scary,” continuing that the state has never faced anything like this before. “This is going to be much worse than anyone is understanding,” Hogan said.

Hogan is allowing for area businesses to stay open for delivery and curbside takeout. Many restaurants have been making the switch in the past few days, including The Corner Pantry, Foraged, Baby’s on Fire, Bon Fresco, Nepenthe Brewing Co., R. House, Stone Mill Bakery and Cafe, Orto, Sobo Market, and Clavel, which is offering its signature dishes along with special batches of spicy mezcalitas to-go.

In Little Italy, Aldo’s chef/owner Sergio Vitale is leading the charge with a new website for patrons to get food delivery and curbside pickup from neighborhood favorites including Aldo’s, Café Gia, La Scala, and Lew Gambino’s.

“Gia [Fracassetti] and I came up with this in response to these challenging times,” says Vitale, who points out that his full menu will be available to patrons. “My own father, chef Aldo, is 75 years old and at risk. We must all do our part to mitigate and combat the spread of COVID-19.” Vitale also points out that purchasing online gift cards to Little Italy restaurants is “another way to support the businesses you love.”

Even restaurants that don’t usually do a big takeout service are encouraging diners to place orders and pick them up curbside. All Foreman Wolf restaurants, with the exception of Charleston, for instance, will offer takeout, as well as delivery services at their Bin 201 and Bin 604 wine shops in Annapolis and Harbor East.

Josh and Stephanie Hershkovitz, the siblings who own Hersh’s in South Baltimore, embraced the carry-out only model over the weekend, even before Hogan’s mandate.

“It was a difficult decision to close,” said Josh, in a lengthy email filled with emotion. “At the end of the day, we both feel that if you believe in the human endeavor of science, you have to live by the practices that bear the best results, with respect to pandemic mitigation.”

This past Friday evening, Hersh’s saw a packed house and hosted a rehearsal dinner in the upstairs dining room.

“This crazy night filled us with joy at our restaurants’ impact on our community, but also a sense of dread as we watched folks waiting for tables, reaching over each other to get drinks, and rubbing up against each other as servers walked by them to get food to tables,” Josh added. “It was this packed night that steeled our resolve and made us commit to closing. We put so much love into our food and our hospitality that we have no doubt that our customers will see this move out of love, as well.”

At La Cuchara in Hampden, chef/co-owner Ben Lefenfeld said he and his team spent the whole morning preparing to shut down well before the governor made his announcement.

“I think that Governor Hogan is doing the right thing,” Lefenfeld says. “As a business owner, it was tough to figure out what to do. I’m glad we finally got some guidance.”

On a good day, the service industry operates on razor-thin margins. As workers scramble to make a living, employers are no doubt facing the tough decisions of laying off staff.

Alex Smith, president of Atlas Restaurant Group, concurs with Lefenfeld. “I agree the governor made the right decision for everybody,” he says, adding that his restaurants tried to stay open as long as possible to support their hourly employees, who rely on a base wage and tips from customers. “As a business with 1200 employees we can’t afford to pay all of them without revenue coming in.”

Lefenfeld adds that he and his team are weighing whether or not they will be open for carry-out next week, but for now they are selling gift cards.

“Twenty-five percent of the sale of the gift cards is going to our staff,” he says. “We are doing all that we can to keep people afloat.”

With regard to his 60 employees, Lefenfeld says that he is attempting to not let anyone go. “Everyone is using paid time off and we are hoping to pay our salaried employees through this entire ordeal,” he adds.

The Hershkovitz’s are trying to create other employment opportunities for their team.

“Being creative, we’ve come with several options for each staff member, from temporary unemployment to being part of our carry out/delivery operation to working at our father’s supermarket, which has no lack of positions for folks interested in working,” says Josh. “We have predicted our temporary closure will last about two weeks, but we will monitor the situation as it progresses.”

Though many chefs and restaurateurs are working diligently to secure employment for their staff, there is still a fear that some might not survive an indefinite shutdown: “This will close a lot of restaurants,” Foreman says. “A lot of places won’t be able to sustain this.”

Adds Smith, “It’s going to hurt.”

While the impact will be felt for some time to come, Lefenfeld points out that Charm City is uniquely resilient.

“The Baltimore restaurant community is a pretty tight-knit group,” he says. “People will rally, not just around the restaurants, but all of the small businesses in the city and support each other.”

In honor of National Siblings Day, we rounded up Baltimore kin who own restaurants together. “It’s comforting working with someone you trust,” says Josh Sullivan, who co-owns Wet City with his older brother, PJ. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”

Joshua, 40, & Stephanie, 43 Hershkovitz, co-owners of Hersh’s Pizza

Early Years: “I was a terror,” says Josh. “I was a bully to her, a crazy little kid who took out the brunt of my emotions on her—I sprained her arm once, I jump-kicked her in the back. But when she went to college and I started high school, we became the best of friends.” Big Little Brother: “We definitely fought, but not in a mean way,” says Stephanie. “It’s just that Josh was a little maniac. Josh is much bigger than me—he came out of the womb the size I was at 3.” Food, Glorious Food: “We are doing this because we love food,” says Josh. “When we have time off, our families go out and eat together.” Air Time: “What makes it work is that we are good at clearing the air,” says Josh.  “A lot of siblings who work together have these big blow-ups. We have a lot of laughs—we keep it light.” Sleep On It: “When Josh got twin beds in his room when we were kids, I’d sleep in his room,” says Stephanie, “but I’d sleep walk and sleep talk and pull all the covers off of him. After that, my mom prevented me from sleeping in his room.” Cutting Corners: “The way that my mom tells the story is that you could put Stephanie in the corner with a book for two hours and, two hours later, she’d still be reading the book,” says Josh. “You’d take Josh and put him in the corner for two hours, and two hours later, the corner would be gone.”

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Lori Gjerde, 47, and Carrie Podles, 44, co-owners of Wicked Sisters and Huck’s American Craft

Sister Act: “I’m much more quick-tempered and outspoken than she is,” says Lori. “I’m also much more of an abstract thinker.” Selling Out: “My sister always likes to remind me of the time that I sold all of her clothes at a consignment shop when she left for college,” says Lori. “I remember selling things—I just don’t remember them being her things!” Working It Out: “My dad probably went into shock looking down and seeing us working together,” says Carrie. “It would have made him happy.”

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PJ, 40, and Josh Sullivan, 35, co-owners of Wet City

United They Stand: “Even as children, we’ve always stuck together,” says PJ. “Occasionally, a neighborhood mother would say Josh was too young to tag along with my crew, so I’d have to say, ‘Either he comes, too, or neither of us go.’” Dirty Jobs: “PJ is very good at getting things done,” says Josh. “He’s good at building relationships and using his network. I prefer getting my hands dirty. In high school, while he was getting the neighborhood kids together for some adventure, I was maintaining my VW Bug or learning how to make grandma’s raviolis.” Living the Dream: “It’s been a dream of ours to open a bar/brew pub for ages,” says PJ. “It’s finally all coming together!”

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Alex, 33, and Eric Smith, 27, managing partners, The Atlas Restaurant Group  

For the Ages: “Eric and I always got along great because we were far apart in age,” says Alex. Personality Points: “I am very reserved and typically a quieter person,” says Eric. “Alex tends to be more outgoing, social, and more in the spotlight.” Brotherly Love: “It would be impossible to count how many things I have learned from Alex,” says Eric.  “He is the best mentor and business partner a younger brother could ask for.”

Back in 2013, Josh and Stephanie Hershkovitz, the brother-and-sister co-owners of Hersh’s Pizza & Drinks in Riverside, came up with the idea to host a series of Monday-night seminars that delved deep into the art of classic cocktails.

Dubbed Hersh’s Anti-Temperance Society (HATS)—a nod to the Temperance Movement that began in the early 1800s—the groups focused on a different libation each week, and ended with a cocktail sampling inspired by the conversation.

“My brother and I are the kind of restaurant owners who have always been like ‘Let’s build a place where we would want to go,’” Stephanie says. “This goes along with that same thinking. It’s the kind of event we could see ourselves going to.”

After taking a break last year, the cocktail club will pick back up on Monday, January 9 at 6:30 p.m. with a seminar highlighting tropical drinks led by Hersh’s bar manager Ali Dryer. Following an interactive discussion about the origins of tiki cocktails, Dryer will serve HATS attendees her take on a piña colada, made with fresh coconut cream, pineapple syrup, and infused-pineapple brandy.

Stephanie says that she’s excited to bring back the program with a more streamlined approach this time around. In addition to cocktail classes with Dryer (who will lead talks about everything from manhattans to sazeracs), the series will also feature a diverse lineup of regional brewers, vintners, and distillers who will be stopping by Hersh’s to discuss the ins-and-outs of their craft.

“We wanted to work more closely with people we like,” Stephanie says with a laugh. “We make everything at the restaurant ourselves, so we have a lot of respect for other people who make great products from scratch.”

Among the events scheduled for the season, which will continue throughout May, include a talk about rye and Irish whiskey with Philadelphia’s New Liberty Distillery on January 23, a craft beer discussion with Frederick’s Flying Dog Brewery on February 6, a session with Eastern Shore-based Lyon Distilling Company on February 20, and a special Mardi Gras-inspired class on February 27. The free gatherings take place in the bar, and feature a signature $5 drink inspired by each week’s theme.

Stephanie is enthusiastic about to bringing back HATS during a time when the local cocktail scene is at the top of its game, mentioning city trendsetters like Clavel, Bookmakers, and B&O American Brasserie.

“Baltimore is a community that loves to support local,” she says. “And it’s fun for people to come into an environment where they don’t feel intimidated by foreign concepts. At Hersh’s, we’re serious about the stuff we make, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”