CLEVELAND — The staff at Hail Mary’s has to take a cover down from their expansion at the end of every workday.

What You Need To Know

  • Restaurants have invested in expansions and outdoor dining as a workaround for COVID restrictions

  • Many places had to make adjustments just to stay open

  • Hail Mary's in Westlake had to shut down right after finishing an expansion

"Depends on how many people you have," Owner Julie Novak said when asked how long it takes to assemble. "But probably a good 40 minutes."

Novak said they had been able to leave it up at all times, but that was while Westlake was under a COVID emergency. Novak said that was lifted on May 1, so they now won’t be able to leave the covers up because of zoning regulations.

“We could use it all year long as long as weather permitted," Novak said. "It’s heated. Now we have to, from now until December, take it down and put it up every day.”

Novak said the restaurant spent about $70,000 to build the expansion, and they were about to open it in time for St. Patty’s Day weekend in 2020. But they had to shut down just days before they could use it. Luckily, they were able to open up again and keep the covers up.

“We really haven’t looked beyond the last few years," Novak said. 

It ended up saving their business, doubling their seating capacity, and using it for outdoor seating in warmer months by removing the covers.

“The winters, it really didn’t matter to people," Novak said. "They would just bundle up and sit outside cause they felt safe that way. It saved our business to have it during COVID, for sure.”

Novak said since the warmer months are coming, they may only cover this space if it’s raining or windy out. Novak is glad their new dining space is larger and more spaced out.

“People like to be spread out now and not feel like they’re on top of each other," Novak said. "So had we not had this space, not only would we have a limited space inside, but it would be a really tight and probably not desirable space during COVID.”

They didn’t get an immediate return on investment, but the expansion ended up quickly paying for itself. It got them through a difficult time for the industry.