VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — While the gathering limits don’t apply to restaurants or most stores, it is nearly crashing the hospitality industry this year.
Catering company kitchens in Virginia Beach were a lot less busy this New Year’s Eve.
It was a much slower holiday night than usual for Mermaid Catering. Owners Julie and Chris Johnson prepped a few to-go orders, but there was only one catering event scheduled that evening: a 10-person dinner.
“We would normally have four or five crews going to different places to do full-service events,” said Julie Johnson. “Along with a lot of drop-off platters.”
It’s usually the busiest time of year for Johnson. She has relied on private chef dinners during the pandemic, but to-go orders are tough.
“We are not a restaurant, and we are not set up for those orders,” Johnson said.
For other catering companies, like Yummy Goodness in Virginia Beach, kitchens were quiet this New Year’s Eve.
“Usually there is a chef at every table, music, people coming and going, and now you could hear a pin drop,” said Yummy Goodness Co-owner, Kelly McMoran.
Owners Kelly McMoran and Lori Verity said this is 25% of their annual business, down the drain.
“We would be doing about 5 to 6 parties,” McMoran said. “It wouldn’t be just dinners. It would be events for hundreds of people.”
Just like Mermaid Catering, carryout didn’t take off for them. In the meantime, a Norfolk preschool catering gig is helping pay the bills.
“They are our lifeline right now,” Verity said.
McMoran said a previous PPE loan and grant from the city kept them afloat.
“We are definitely waiting for the second round of PPP,” McMoran said.
Both catering companies are booking ahead.
“We are booking all the way into 2022,” Verity said. “I have a couple weddings booked out that far already.”
They hope their kitchens aren’t quite as quiet in 2021.
“Grinding to a halt like this has been traumatic, to say the least,” McMoran said.
“This is our primary source of income, so we have to make this work,” Johnson said.