A new state law regarding the inclusion of single-use utensils and other items with takeout food orders is now in effect, though some local restaurants won’t experience too much of a change to their current operations.
As of Jan. 1, restaurants and other food service businesses are not able to automatically provide single-use items made of plastic unless they are requested by customers. Items affected by the restriction include knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, straws, stirrers, condiment packets, sauce cups and soft drink lids.
The new law won’t affect hot drinks or drinks provided by a delivery service, curbside pickup or through a drive-thru window. Permanent venues with 2,500 seats or more also are exempt from the lid restriction.
Locally, restaurant owners of prominent Battle Ground establishments said the new laws won’t force them to change how they do their orders by much.
Mike Casetta, co-owner of Playmakers Sports Bar and Grill, said the restaurant typically doesn’t include utensils with its orders, though he said during lunch hours they may ask if customers need them.
“It’s not something that we, even before COVID-19, would automatically include in the bag because a lot of people don’t have the use for it. There’s no sense wasting it,” Casetta said.
Takeout wasn’t much of a consideration for Playmakers prior to the initial COVID-19 restrictions that limited food sales to only to-go orders. The restaurant started offering takeout two days a week and then built up its to-go operation, which Casetta said now makes up about 10% of Playmakers’ food sales.
“I don’t think that (the new law) is going to make much of a difference to us. You’re talking maybe pennies,” Casetta said.
Playmakers isn’t the only business that has moved away from automatically including forks, knives and spoons.
“In an effort to save money, we’ve been doing that for a while,” said Eric Starr, the owner of Northwood Public House. “A lot of people don’t need them. They’re picking up their to-go, they’re going home, they’re going back to their office.”
Starr said a good amount of the restaurant’s to-go items do require utensils, but when asked, customers often don’t require them.
Though takeout wasn’t a large part of Northwood’s business historically, Starr said there was a jump in the restaurant’s to-go orders. He said prior to the pandemic it made up less than 2% of their business, but it hit a peak of about 11% after business started to ramp back up in February. In the past 60 days, he has noticed a significant drop-off in takeout, with it now making up about 6% of business.
Though the share of takeout business has declined, Starr said overall sales haven’t dropped, which he said was probably because more customers have shifted toward dine-in services.
Playmakers and Northwood don’t utilize third-party food delivery services for their orders. Both Casetta and Starr cited the charges from the companies and the lack of delivery control as reasons they don’t take part in the services.
Unlike Playmakers, Northwood didn’t operate a to-go program during the shutdown of restaurants, Starr said. He explained the cost of operations didn’t warrant takeout offerings when taking into account the resources needed to provide the service.
While shuttered, Starr said the restaurant updated its point-of-sale system to allow for streamlined ordering for takeout to prepare for Northwood’s return to business. Online orders make up about a quarter of takeout business compared to those who call in orders, he said.
Apart from limiting utensils, the new state law will also change other packaging. In June of 2024, styrofoam food service products, like takeout containers, will be banned.
That change won’t affect Playmakers or Northwood, as both restaurants have phased out their use of styrofoam already. Casetta said Playmakers moved to using cardboard containers at about the same time the pandemic hit.
“They’re a little pricier, but it’s a better look,” Casetta said.
Overall, Starr said he is supportive of the change because it will lead to less waste from unused utensils.
“I hate the thought of putting something in a bag and having it go into the garbage can needlessly,” Starr said.
