Waterside businesses like Tim’s Rivershore reopen post coronavirus shutdown, adapt to new normal

As Northern Virginia entered the first phase of a multi-tiered reopening plan following the coronavirus shutdown, riverside businesses are prepared for a different kind of summer.

Restaurants such as Tim’s Rivershore that sits on the Potomac River were closed for dining-in during the Governor’s Executive Temporary Stay at Home Order. Now, they’re starting to re-open.

“You want to make sure everyone’s safe,” said Tim Bauckman, owner and the titular “Tim” of Tim’s Rivershore near Dumfries.

Bauckman said they have “gallons” of hand sanitizer, and all his employees have masks, though they will not be able to provide masks for customers. Every time someone signs a credit card slip, the pen they use will be taken and put into a dirty bucket to be cleaned.

Customers will be fine without masks while eating and drinking, but they will need to be masked when entering the restaurant.

There are only 1o people allowed inside the restaurant at all times, so they need to rotate employees in and out to accomplish this. One man and one woman will be allowed in their respective bathrooms at one time.

The kitchen staff has the option to wear a mask, face shield, or both, according to Bauckman.

“It’s like a hospital,” Bauckman said.

When the stay at home orders set in, Bauckman didn’t think they would have much t0-go business, but that wasn’t the case.

“People have been really good,” Bauckman said.

While the to-go business was better than he expected, Bauckman said that they could not live off of just doing that.

Initially, the restaurant laid everyone off, but they are now in the process of bringing everyone back.

“It’s a task,” Bauckman said, as he began explaining that with the unemployment wages plus the federal stimulus of $600 a week, some of his employees are making more than they make in a week. “That makes me the bad guy,” Bauckman said, adding that his employees on average make around $500 a week, although some of his waitresses make that much in a day.

Bauckman also has two other “Tim’s” locations on the Potomac River — one at Fairview Beach in King George County, one at Coles Point, about an hour and 15 minutes from Fredericksburg. He also owns another “Tim’s” restaurant at Lake Anna in Virginia.

Bauckman explained that the staff he has working in Dumfries now had gone to work at the other restaurants in the interim.

The location at Lake Anna had been open for the last two weeks operating at 50% capacity outside. The Coles Point location has been open the entire time because it is located in rural Virginia, but the Fairview Beach location is opening this past weekend just like the Dumfries location.

In the middle of the summer, Bauckman typically has 100 people working for him. Right now, the staff is at 30-40 people.

Hope Springs Marina, in Stafford on the Aquia Creek, is also implementing changes 

According to new safety guidelines, boating must be limited to groups under 10 and only immediate family members. Patrons at the marina, located at 4 Hope Springs Lane in Stafford, are asked not to have “rafting up, beaching, or rendezvous events,” to “maintain 6-feet of the distance between yourself and others including fuel docks, pump out stations, and other high traffic areas,” and to wear masks within six feet of others.

As businesses along the river ready for the summer, so do the state’s beaches.

According to the State Department of Conservation and Recreation, tidal beaches at Mason Neck, Leesylvania, Widewater, Caledon, Westmoreland, Belle Isle, York River, Chippokes, Kiptopeke, First Landing and False Cape are all open to the public beginning on May 29. The Department says that:

“These tidal beaches will be available according to the following safety protocols:

• Beachgoers will be required to practice social distancing between non-related groups
• Groups of more than 10 beachgoers will be prohibited
• No entertainment or programming that generate mass gatherings
• No beach playsets, tents or grouping of umbrellas
• No team sports – i.e. soccer, volleyball, football

If the density of beachgoers increases on a beach, parking capacity may be reduced. In addition, park staff will initiate temporary beach closures if overcrowding occurs to ensure the safety of visitors and staff.”

The website went on to say that the “Lakefront beaches at Hungry Mother, Claytor Lake, Smith Mountain Lake, Fairystone, Douthat, Holliday Lake, Bear Creek Lake, Twin Lakes and Lake Anna will remain closed until adequate staffing is available and safety protocols have been developed.”