How Covid Has Changed Us ~An Open Letter to Our Customers

As a restaurant, we are one of the lucky ones.  Our business model of being seasonal and all outdoor has made it so that we were able to survive covid much better than most.  Still, we missed 30% of our season due to closures in 2020 and 2021.

Reservations  In Covid our “seat yourself” model no longer worked.  We HAD to ensure that every table was fully sanitized between customers every time.  Taking reservations, having hosts at the door and bussers to sanitize the tables became our new normal.  To our surprise, it made much more sense as a business and many customers appreciated it.  Hosts and reservations are here to stay.

Live Music has been a staple at GTs since we opened in 1993 but it just doesn’t make sense for us anymore. During the past two years, just as many customers said they preferred us without live music as those that did.  They came to enjoy the food, the company and the great view and did not want their conversation interrupted by live music. Between liability issues, insurance costs, the customers who prefer us without live music and the mental health of our staff, live music just not longer makes sense for us.  GTs will move forward as the best possible restaurant we can be and we will close by 11pm.

Volleyball has also been a staple feature of GTs.  Hosting tournaments no longer makes sense for us and volleyball players often bring individual cars and use parking spaces for several hours.  In addition, because of the additional expense of insuring the courts, the poles have now been removed.

Beach Extension Finally, we are beyond grateful that the municipality allowed us to extend our patio onto the beach during the pandemic but this will not be staying permanently.  Our kitchen is only large enough to handle our current footprint and the toll on the staff to serve tables on the sand, often in scorching heat cannot be understated.  Once tables no longer have to be 6′ apart, we will no longer have tables on the beach.

We are so grateful to you, our customer.  THANK YOU for supporting us through this pandemic and we hope this letter helps you to understand why we had to change and why some of those changes have now become permanent.  We very much look forward to serving you lunch or dinner for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Carol & Andy Gates

Owners, GTs On The Beach