Jeannie Bone, owner of Casa Córdoba at 2331 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose, shared her frustration with the new restrictions imposed on restaurant owners that went into effect the night of Nov. 25.

Every day since March 16, I feel I’m living in either the “Twilight Zone” or “Groundhog Day” and I can’t wake up. And then I think things can’t get much worse … and then they do.

The closure of outdoor dining has entirely changed the landscape of us full-service restaurants. Full service independent restaurants are being pushed toward the brink of collapse due to no fault of their own. No proof has been produced to blame and punish us for the spread of COVID-19. We really did our best to comply by working closely with the health department.

The outdoor model, while having its challenges, was working well enough to make the numbers work for many of us. Although the parklets and outdoor dining appeared successful, the restaurants were still trying to catch up from previous losses that started in March. That meant that restaurants were trying their best to take care of patrons while understanding the limited capacity and limited income potential imposed by the restrictions. We did everything we could to comply. The parklets were a welcome relief and were very much appreciated by all. My points were to be patient, honor your reservations, don’t write discouraging mean reviews, and enjoy what was being offered without being a difficult client. Restaurants already had so much to overcome. Many remodeled twice, once inside and then outside, which was an unforeseen, unbudgeted additional expense to the restaurant.

Going back to take-out only is like trying to hang on to some branches while heading to the waterfall. Holding on against the current over time, the branches will break and the inevitable happens.

The saddest part of it all is laying off the same employees a second time. How do you tell them there’s no plan from the EDD, the city or the state? It’s holiday time; they have children, rent to pay. It breaks my heart.

In ending, the message I’ve received loud and clear is that we small independent restaurants are expendable, collateral damage. In the meantime, we see our officials go to their favorite restaurants and have their hair done. All these folks are still getting a paycheck while our laid-off restaurant workers are more fearful of losing their ability to take care of their families than they ever were of getting sick. And we took all the necessary steps to make our employees and patrons comfortable.

So we go back to “How to Save our Restaurants?” Patronize them as best you can and buy gift cards. The reality is that restaurants need to be allowed to function. The take-out only model does not suffice for a full-service restaurant. It’s difficult to compete against the model of El Pollo Loco, Taco Bell or McDonald’s, which are in the business of selling fast food and have drive-throughs.

The California Restaurant Association is suing to get the ban reversed on outdoor dining. Those who believe that the banning of outdoor dining was a mistake are encouraged to do their part to help and please write to the city council and the LA County Health Department and let them know where you stand. Many restaurants do not have unlimited time. The PPP money is gone with most funding still needing to be forgiven. The CARES Act loans will become due. There’s still rent to pay. I have not heard of credit card companies or banks initiating additional CARES programs for more time to pay as they did in March/April. This time around, where is the plan?

My plan is to fight to hold on to my business as long as I can and hopefully rehire the same employees as they have been loyal. I want to be loyal back to them. I hope we survive long enough for that to happen. I’m risking losing everything, as are thousands of others.

In the meantime, we at Casa Córdoba are planning to open our wine shop and sell gift baskets, house olives and Sangria as well as food to-go with some delivery. We have to sell a lot of gift baskets and food to-go to make up for the losses of in-person dining.