By Leanna Yu & Rita Li, Editor-in-Chief & Staff Writer
The reopening of Millbrae has led to new guidelines for local businesses, in which retail, eateries, and markets have changed operations to comply with San Mateo County restrictions and tackle the economic impact of COVID-19.
Following the closure of Orchard Supply Hardware across El Camino in late 2018, Office Depot located in the Millbrae Square Shopping Center is now expected to close in early November. According to Office Depot’s SEC filings, the company announced a restructuring plan that includes the closing of stores and laying off about 13,100 employees by 2023. The Millbrae Office Depot store is contemporarily holding a going-out-of-business sale to rid of its inventory. The business replacement for the Office Depot building is currently unspecified.
On Saturday, October 3rd, the Millbrae City Council put into effect an urgency ordinance for local restaurants. As stated in the Millbrae City Council Agenda Report, “restaurants will pay no more than 15% of purchase orders to third-party food delivery platforms such as UberEats, DoorDash and Grubhub.” Because of the present hardships that local restaurants are facing due to COVID-19 health orders, the City of Millbrae recognized that most businesses are gaining a greater percentage of sales from online food delivery services. The urgency ordinance declares four changes to food delivery services in Millbrae:
1) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a covered establishment a fee per online order for the use of its services that totals more than 15% of the purchase price of such online order where the order is delivered to the customer.
2) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a covered establishment a fee per online order for the use of its services that totals more than 10% of the purchase price of such online order where the order is not delivered to the customer.
3) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a customer any purchase price for a food or beverage item that is higher than the price set by the covered establishment on the third-party food delivery service or, if no price is set by the covered establishment on the third-party food delivery service, the price listed on the covered establishment’s own menu.
4) A third-party food delivery service may not reduce the compensation rates paid to the delivery service driver or retain any portion of amounts designated as a tip or gratuity as a result of this Ordinance. The third-party delivery service must pay any tip or gratuity, in its entirety, to the person delivering the food or beverages.
However, this urgency ordinance is temporary and will expire 30 days after the expiration of the COVID-19 emergency.
Through the gradual reopening of local businesses, select Millbrae restaurants, including the Millbrae Pancake House, Ben Tre, Thai Stick, and Millbrae Kebabs & Gyros now offer outdoor dining to customers. The amount of normal seating available is still contained due to limited outdoor space and social distancing protocols. Restaurants facing El Camino Real, such as Ben Tre and Thai Stick, have built parklets— sidewalk extensions that take up parking spaces— to seat outdoor dining tables. Similarly, PPQ Dungeness Island has renovated their parking lot space into an outdoor dining area with flower decorations and drop down coverings. Christian Kwan (12) stated, “The ambiance of outdoor dining is comforting, and knowing that I’m supporting the business of local restaurants is why I eat out.” However, the safety of outdoor dining still poses a threat to customers. On October 11th, an elderly driver lost control and crashed into an outdoor dining area in San Jose, killing one woman and severely injuring multiple others. Following this event, Daphne Situ (12) explained, “I don’t feel comfortable eating outdoors because I don’t know how safe it is. I do hope to feel comfortable to dine outdoors soon though, but am unsure how [COVID-19 cases] will play out once winter comes.”
The Millbrae Farmers’ Market now has specific entrances and exits for customers. The farmers market, which is located at the City Parking Lot on Broadway between La Cruz and Victoria Avenue, is open every Saturday from 8:00am to 1:00pm. Executive director of the California Farmers Market Association, Gail Hayden, announced, “We are happy that farmers markets have been deemed essential services, allowing for the best local produce available in a safe, stress-free environment,” before San Mateo entered Tier II, allowing for indoor restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and places of worship to be open with restrictions. Due to safety concerns, food samplings are no longer offered and shoppers are expected to social distance and wear a face covering. Millbrae resident and Mills parent, Lena Yu, who regularly buys from the Millbrae Farmers Market, remarked, “Although there are signs reminding customers to social distance, there are tight crowds in the produce section. It’s difficult to social distance in the surrounding area, but people are good at wearing masks.”
With the urgency ordinance and outdoor dining accessibility to help local businesses, Millbrae restaurants are working through the implications that COVID-19 has caused on reopenings.
