The owner of Blake Street Tavern, who has been an active critic of city and state pandemic orders, said Tuesday that the new, stricter guidelines are a “nightmare scenario” for the restaurant industry.

The new Level 3 restrictions restrict indoor restaurants to 25% of capacity — and a maximum of 50 people. Last call for alcoholic beverages has moved from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“As an industry, no one can survive at 25%,” said Chris Fuselier, the tavern’s owner. 

“Now you go to 25% and in my mind, it doesn’t even make sense, because the state might as well tell us to just close indoor dining.”

Sonia Riggs, the CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association, said business owners have stated they need at least 75% capacity to survive.

“Even at 50% capacity, half of restaurants told us they will have to consider permanently closing within six months. Restaurants have told us that they need to get about 75% capacity to have a chance at medium term survival,” Riggs said in an email statement to The Denver Gazette.

But as the cold winter nights get closer by the hour, Riggs and Fuselier know the challenge gets greater as the temperature continues to drop.

Fuselier said that a restaurant he ate at last weekend “had about 20 tables outside and I really feel for them, because they don’t have the ability to do a tent when it starts to get really cold. So they’ll only have about what — four tables inside? And they can’t survive on that,” Fuselier said. 

Fuselier, like many business owners, said he hasn’t taken a pay check in months, but earlier this fall was becoming optimistic as the coronavirus case numbers were declining. 

But last week, when Adam’s County announced they were enforcing stricter restrictions, he knew those rules would affect him shortly. But he said the worst part is not knowing when these restrictions could lift.

“At a minimum, this is going to last two to four weeks. But we’re heading into winter, so I think this could easily last 60 days, 90 days, 120 days. I mean, it could honestly last all the way through the end of winter,” Fuselier told The Denver Gazette.

“I think it’s tough sometimes running a restaurant as it, and then you have what happened today, where you have no control. It’s a nightmare scenario.”

Besides not knowing how long these restriction may last, he worries about the upcoming discussions with employees who have already been furloughed, put on unemployment or rehired, about what comes next.

“You’re trying your best to have your staff … it’s just brutal that I might have to tell them to take pay cuts, or reduce hours, or have some people go back on unemployment,” Fuselier said. 

Restaurants have one clear message to everyone.

“Please, please follow the public health guidelines to turn the numbers around as quickly as possible to get these restaurants back open and give them a chance for survival,” Riggs said. 

The new limits also restrict retail businesses.

In a statement Kelly Brough, Denver Metro Chamber president and CEO. said: “As the spread grows again, it is critical that we double down on our efforts to get this virus under control, so we can reopen our businesses and get employees back to work.”

“As we enter this phase of increased restrictions, it underscores the need for additional supports and relief for the businesses hardest hit by this pandemic,” she said. “Until we can get back to work, we must support our small business community and urge federal and state leaders to do the same.”