Editorial: A smart, phased-in return to more restaurant and bar service

Cautious optimism.

That may be the best path to tread going forward in the coronavirus pandemic.

Cautious optimism puts the idea of being careful first, but anchors it to a positive outlook. It focuses on the goal without being reckless.

That is what Gov. Tom Wolf promoted Monday when he announced new moves for restaurants and bars, alongside expanded capacity limits for indoor and outdoor event spaces.

Hospitality businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic and by the measures taken to stop the spread of covid-19, including shutting down indoor dining at times and cutting back capacity at others. Alcohol, a regular profit item for many locations, has been further restricted on top of that.

It has all resulted in an industry beaten first by a disease and then by the cure. According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 110,000 establishments nationwide closed their doors last year. Total losses topped $240 billion — about a quarter of the industry’s annual revenue.

And that doesn’t even count the tips that account for a significant portion of employee pay.

But Wolf says that will be ending. He announced that on April 4, indoor capacities will go up to 75% (at venues that have self-certified their safety protocols). Bars will also be able to get back to regular business. They may serve drinks right at the bar, rather than being restricted to table seating, and no longer need to require that food be purchased along with alcoholic beverages. The curfew on alcohol will be pulled, too.

All of those moves are in response to falling statistics. Not only are infections down, but so are hospitalizations and overall positivity — exactly the goal of the restrictions.

“Pennsylvanians have stepped up and done their part to help curb the spread of covid-19,” Wolf said.

So why wait until April 4? That’s the cautious part, and it’s smart.

We have not been shy about our criticism of Wolf’s reactions over the last year, which have often seemed to pinball from harsh stance to wishy-washy caving. One day would be a line in the sand. The next would be scuffing that line out with a shoe and redrawing it somewhere else.

That made it hard for businesses to make plans. Do you buy enough supplies to run your restaurant and risk having them go to waste when the state closes things down a few days later? How do you schedule your staff? How do you pay your bills?

But an almost three-week plan to get from here to there doesn’t just give the restaurants and bars time to adjust — as well as timing to coincide with a holiday. It also provides enough lag for the state to observe what is happening between now and then. And it also gives customers more faith in the measures being taken: The reopening works only if eaters and drinkers feel comfortable showing up to consume.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said Tuesday states should be cautious about reopening as he watches new waves of disease spread over Europe. He has been critical of moves made in other states such as Texas and Mississippi, which rolled back restrictions quickly.

Wolf is doing the right thing by having a goal, making a plan and proceeding with confidence — but not neglecting care.