Who says there is no entertainment at restaurants in this time of COVID-19? The following encounter would have been quite entertaining if it were not so concerning.
Restaurateur Ted Karousos was going through the combination welcome and state-mandated screening with a customer who had come in for lunch at his Blue Plate Diner in Middletown. He asked for the customer’s name and a contact phone number.
With a grin, the customer declared, “My name is Frank Zappa.”
Three generations of food service and hospitality have made rolling with the punches instinctive for Karousos. As he described the incident, he deftly fielded the zinger and volleyed it back, saying, “That’s great. I’m a big fan!” But the guest was playing it to the hilt. Next question: May we have a contact phone number for contact tracing? The response – in song this time: “Eight-Six-Seven-Five-Three-Oh-Nine!”
We have been living with this virus, battling this virus and doing all that is possible to avoid this virus for months. There are specific measures and practices that have become recognized and accepted as effective, perhaps reluctantly. From the state’s point of view, what works is mandating masks, distancing and sanitization practices. In the event of an outbreak, the method pivots to quarantine and contact tracing to isolate spread. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, even while recognizing there are still some of us who have not ventured out since March.
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SHIELDED: Blue Plate Diner staffer Tori Kulpa fills a customer’s order from behind plastic glass at the Blue Plate Diner in Middletown. The restaurant is following state safety requirements, including collecting contact information from customers. / COURTESY BLUE PLATE DINER[/caption]
What may be less well-known is the responsibility of the restaurant, or as it is referred to in the state mandate, the “establishment.” As in, “The Establishments must maintain a log to retain the names, phone numbers, and the date/time in the establishment of at least one member of each party dining in the restaurant. The logs must be kept for a period of 30 days and this information must be made available to [the R.I. Department of Health], upon request, for the purposes of contact tracing.” This is one of the 12 checkboxes the state inspection teams complete during the frequent visits.
The Blue Plate has undergone three inspections and has received perfect scores. It is the restaurant owner, not public health officials nor the inspecting department, who is responsible for such recordkeeping and who RIDOH would turn to in the event of an outbreak. And for our clever customer who may have thought he was safeguarding his identity, from the guidelines: “Records dating before the previous 30 days must be permanently destroyed.”
These days, it is a narrative device among some members of the media who would like to be thought of as the voice of the public to portray the citizenry as victims of government overreach. There is evidence to support missteps on the part of officials despite their largely successful efforts to contain this unprecedented pandemic up to now, at least from a public health perspective. As such, reasonable people ought to be able to allow these inconveniences and even intrusions for the time being and for the greater good. If, after a vaccine or whatever the outcome, the overreach were to continue, that would be the time for justifiable outrage.
So what of the would-be Mr. Zappa? Did he have standing to refuse to be forthcoming with traceable personal information? Should the restaurateur have refused him service? There are consequences on both sides. What kind of a scene would have resulted if the owner threw the individual out? What would have been the long-term impact to the business with social media in the hands of such a customer? The guidelines state only that the names, phone numbers, and the date and time of the visit to the establishment “of at least one member of each party dining in the restaurant” be recorded. Mr. Zappa was eventually served, apparently after someone else in his party provided contact information.
Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” now in its 25th year, is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England. Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.
