Shift manager Natisha Stephens passes an order to a customer at the pickup window Tuesday at Wendy’s on Seventh Street in Parkersburg. Local Wendy’s are providing food only through drive-throughs in an effort to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

BELPRE — Local restaurants are adapting to the changing landscape of limited gatherings and social distancing.

So far, the transition has been smooth for Wendy’s, said Ray Blackburn, who owns 39 of the franchise’s restaurants in West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia. After Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday ordered restaurants and bars to close except for takeout and delivery, Blackburn decided to limit Buckeye State operations to the drive-throughs rather than have people line up inside.

Business on Monday was pretty good, he said.

“It was right in line with last year’s sales,” Blackburn said.

It hasn’t been as easy for Belair’s Bistro & Catering in Belpre, where owner Denise Belair reduced her staff from 13 to four after DeWine’s order.

Belair's Bistro & Catering employee Michelle Brill, left, hands a pickup order to Parkersburg residents Karen Dent, center, and Sue Buzzard Tuesday. After Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's order to close restaurants and bars to dine-in business, Belair's in Belpre has been providing carryout orders. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“I broke down and started praying,” Belair said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m worried to death. I’m hoping that I can maintain my business.”

She reduced hours to 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and cut back some of the specials on the menu, focusing more on comfort foods and nutritional offerings. Over two days of carryout-only service, Belair said loyal customers have continued to patronize the restaurant. Among them are Parkersburg residents Sue Buzzard and Karen Dent, who picked up dinner Tuesday.

“During this time, we want to help her out by doing carryout,” Dent said.

Belair said she’s concerned about whether she’ll be able to get the ingredients she needs.

“It truly is crazy,” she said. “But I’m going to hold on as long as I can.”

Chairs are flipped up onto tables at Belair's Bistro & Catering on Washington Boulevard in Belpre with Ohio restaurants closed except for pickup and carryout service. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Everybody’s still been able to come to work for Napoli’s, said Wayne Waldeck, co-owner of Wal-Bon Corp., which owns Napoli’s and McHappy’s. With carryout and delivery already major components of their business under normal circumstances, the only workers impacted so far by DeWine’s order have been servers in the dining room of the Belpre location.

“We have been able to transfer them into the kitchens,” with some shifting to delivery as demand has increased, Waldeck said. “So far, everybody has a job.”

Napoli’s is also offering “no contact” delivery, where customers can pay with a card and have the driver leave their food in a designated location.

McHappy’s Donuts and Bake Shoppe at 700 Main St. in Belpre usually offers delivery between 6 and 10 a.m. on weekdays in Parkersburg and Vienna as well as Belpre.

“Now we’re getting so much demand we’ve decided to extend it into the full day,” Waldeck said.

Even before West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice ordered a closure of restaurants, bars and casinos Tuesday, da Vinci’s owner Chris Bender was thinking about what to do if the state followed Ohio’s lead.

Home delivery — something the restaurant offered years ago — could be an option if that happens. On Tuesday, the Williamstown eatery started dV2U, in which they will deliver food to designated locations in Belpre, Marietta, Parkersburg and Vienna.

“To drum up extra business, we’ve had to go out into the community and do this delivery thing,” Bender said.

While some customers are heeding advice to stay in, others still want to dine out.

“We’ve had a lot of phone calls and a lot of response from people in Ohio” wanting to come across the river, Bender said.

If delivery expands, servers and hosts may be called upon to do that, she said, noting she hopes to keep everyone employed.

“We’ve got to get creative and keep all these people busy,” Bender said.

Wendy’s corporate made the decision to go to drive-through and carryout service only on Monday night. Blackburn said he opted to limit that further, just as he has in Ohio.

“We’re just choosing to be, in our area, pickup window only,” he said.

So far, Wendy’s has been able to keep employees who are able to work on the job, Blackburn said.

“We were able to put a little extra staff at the drive-through window,” he said, noting that closing the dining area also allows workers more space to put between themselves.

Some teenage employees are coming in, with their parents’ permission, while off from school to help with tasks, and the restaurants are being deep-cleaned, Blackburn said.

“I want the stores to absolutely sparkle at this time,” he said.

If employees need to stay home because of child care or other issues, “there’s no questions asked,” Blackburn said.