by William Crum
Wyandotte County restaurants, while providing carryout service, are reporting business losses in the wake of a shutdown of sit-down dining.
Restaurants, bars, taverns, casinos and movie theaters in Wyandotte County were ordered to end dine-in service on Monday night through April 1, but the restaurants are allowed to continue takeout service. It is an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Janice Barnes, general manager of JAMZ Bar and Grill, 11657 Kaw Drive, Bonner Springs, said people are running scared. She only made about $130 in one day, she noted. Some restaurants are closing down because people are afraid to go out, she said.
“People want to order food, and we can’t even do delivery,” she added.
The restaurant closed early today. She said she was thinking of closing for a few days, and coming back to provide takeout service, hoping people are done with the scare.
At Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, 2816 W. 47th Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, they are doing carryout today.
“A lot of people are just coming in, getting carryout and leaving,” said Jerri Kirk, general manager. She said they have commented on how clean the restaurant is.
The restaurant has changed from dine-in to carryout.
“Our primary purpose here must be to flatten the curve,” said Mayor David Alvey in a Unified Government Facebook video today. “We are taking various serious measures to make sure we get out in front of this.”
The measures are aimed at not overwhelming the medical system, he said, and saving lives.
Three new cases of COVID-19 have been announced in Wyandotte County today, according to health officials.
Mayor Alvey said he, other city mayors in the county, leaders of the school districts and colleges, community health organizations, Rep. Sharice Davids and Sen. Jerry Moran have been working together on a weekly basis to discuss and meet the community’s needs. He said the decision-making has not been done by one or two individuals.
Four local governments, the “regional 4 CORE partners,” including the Unified Government, Jackson County, Missouri, Johnson County, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, came together yesterday to announce the closing of the restaurants and bars in the three counties, he said.
“We knew what a hit that would be on our bars and restaurants,” Mayor Alvey said.
He added he is working with Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, to address these losses in federal legislation. He said the Kansas Department of Commerce website will have a form for businesses to fill out about they can access financial resources at this time. The website is at https://www.kansascommerce.gov/.
He said they are discouraging people from gathering in one place, and he encouraged people to call their neighbors, especially the elderly, to see if they need any questions answered.
To see the mayor’s Facebook video, visit https://www.facebook.com/cityofkck/videos/744428939296898/?epa=SEARCH_BOX.
KDHE has a website for more information on COVID-19, at http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus.
The CDC also has a COVID-19 website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.
The Unified Government has a COVID-19 website at Wycokck.org/COVID-19.