As Santa Barbara County eases restrictions on restaurants and retail stores, one question proves to be crucial in the race to reopen: Will the customers return? It’s especially important in the small town of Carpinteria, where local businesses are working hard to stay afloat amid the ongoing pandemic.
Rick Mancilla owns The Worker Bee Café in Carpinteria along with his son, also named Rick. The duo, along with the rest of the staff, provided takeout and delivery service for the three-month period that dine-in service wasn’t an option. Since reopening for in-person dining, they saw an immediate demand from customers eager to return to the bustling brunch spot. “It’s definitely not what we’re used to seeing this time of year in Carpinteria, but it has significantly bounced back from when we were just doing takeout,” Mancilla said.
Worker Bee is down by 50 percent in dining capacity because of social-distancing guidelines, and the size of the staff has shifted down, too. “Employees were eager [to return], but we also have a skeleton crew, mind you. We don’t have everybody in here because it just doesn’t justify it,” Mancilla explained.