2020 has forced dining and entertainment into its most difficult, and creative, period yet

For dining and entertainment, 2020 has come down to the issue of space — outdoors, indoors and virtually.

Keeping people apart while giving them a common experience has been the challenge that has caused the city's creative sector to lose sleep, just as it has pushed entrepreneurial minds to new bounds. Those who are still operating have watched beloved peers close down while they fight the specter of job loss themselves.

Over the summer, Indianapolis burst with new outdoor seating, stages and tours to capitalize on the safety of fresh air. Throughout the fall and now into winter, those entities are remaining outdoors when they can keep their visitors comfortable. Inside, many restaurants and venues are eking out survival through reduced capacities and socially distant seating. Others have shut down in-person operations to reduce expenses and connect with patrons through streamed shows and cook-from-home projects.

There is some hope in the stimulus package approved by Congress and signed Sunday by President Donald Trump, though its specific impact locally remains to be seen.

Whatever their specific plans, restaurants, venues and arts organizations are balancing these new approaches with fighting to remain solvent and keeping their workers employed.

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Operators lost money, and some had to close

Diners had to say goodbye to some favorites — from the 109-year old John’s Famous Stew on the southwest side to Black Market on Mass Ave. Some, like Black Market and Rook, in Fletcher Place — which closed on the same day — gave enough notice that customers were able to make it in to get a last meal. Others, like Shoefly Public House, just posted through social media that they were closed.

About 20 percent of restaurants in Indiana have closed since March, according to the National Restaurant Association. With people spending less — 91 percent of restaurants reported sales down by an average 32 percent — operators swung into action to stem fiscal hemorrhaging. Restaurant operators don't expect business conditions to improve in the coming few months. Eighty-two percent of them in Indiana and 75 percent nationally say sales are likely to decrease over the next three months.

While restaurant operators are working under the constraints of capacity restrictions and social-distancing mandates, they're still trying to build some volume of sales. Those in entertainment venues are dealing with the same challenges. Both groups have made use of Paycheck Protection Program loans and other funding, but they're in dire need of more and having to close down parts of their operations in the meantime.

Many eateries have had to go to take-out only or cutting hours of operation. Milktooth in Fletcher Place did both, recently suspending dine-in and patio seating to get through the winter and whittling its hours of operation to 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Others, like Tinker Street in Herron-Morton Place and Michael’s Soul Kitchen downtown, have remained close through the pandemic, although the owner of Tinker Street is seeking buyers and Michael’s plans to reopen in March.

Some of the city's biggest entertainment economic drivers had to sit out 2020 and hope to return in 2021. Gen Con, the nation's largest tabletop-game convention, was canceled along with the major concerts that are usually connected to the Indianapolis 500. The Penrod Arts Fair and Yuletide couldn't bring their usual thousands, either.

The Vintage Indiana Wine Festival, which typically draws more than 10,000 people to Military Park was rescheduled, then canceled. Organizers promoted an alternate program prompting people to visit the 30 participating wineries and post to social media for prizes.

The IndyStar Wine & Food Experience, which was to take place in Carmel on Sept. 26, rebranded the IndyStar Wine & Food Experience -- To Go and took place over a three-week period in October, encouraging customers to visit participating restaurants.

The loss of concerts large and small has reverberated across venues, performing arts organizations and museums. Local organizations and venues have joined to assemble funding from donors through initiatives like the Indy Musicians Relief Fund to pass on money to individual artists in need. The Indiana Independent Venue Alliance, which formed in the wake of the first stay-at-home orders, has been providing emergency relief to venues and has spoken up as Congress figures out legislation that could help the music industry.

The CARES Act has helped. Seventeen Indianapolis music venues got more than $121,000 in grants that were approved by the city and came from the act in August. The city allocated $500,000 in CARES Act funding to arts organizations as well. Marion County groups received more than $2.2 million in arts, cultural and destination marketing organization support grants given to the state from the act.

Loans from the Paycheck Protection Program came to about $17.6 million for 70 Marion County arts organizations, according to the Arts Council. The Lilly Endowment is offering $10 million in grants to help with the $20 million of unexpected expenses Indianapolis cultural organizations are incurring to reopen.

But groups still need more. Though more federal relief is pending, 50 Marion County arts organizations surveyed by The Arts Council of Indianapolis had, on average, 3.6 months of operating cash on hand after the end of November.

At-home experiences are getting more creative

Tina Jesson provided one of the most old-school services around — traditional tea service and baking classes at the Old English Kitchen & Tearoom in the Carmel Arts District.

But the pandemic spurred her to move operations online, providing baked goods locally through the Market Wagon food delivery service, shipping kits with teas, scone mixes and homemade jam and leading virtual baking classes from her home through tinastraditional.com.

The move to take the chocolate biscuit cake, cookie and tea sandwich-making classes has been a smash, she said. She only fit up to eight people at a time at an in-person class at the Carmel shop. The virtual classes have accommodated more than 90 people at a time — with no baker left behind.

“I wait until everybody’s at the stage that I'm at before we move on to the next step,” Jesson said. “If things don't go quite right, we can fix it as we go.”

“The results have been really good.”

Virtual classes and performances are a way for people to access favorites that might be closed and keep supporting them when they can't offer their usual services.

For their part, restaurants have responded with a range of offerings. Broad Ripple darling Gallery Pastry Shop recently launched new macaron- and cocktail-making classes, each with a kit and a link to a video in which pastry chef Ben Hardy or Gallery Pastry Bar bartender Corey Ewing demonstrate preparation.

Venues and arts organizations have turned to streaming performances whenever they can. The challenge has been to acquire the proper licensing, contracts and technological services to produce quality shows. Some groups are finding that it's the only way to fulfill their mission safely.

Tonic Ball usually uses concerts at multiple venues to raise money for Second Helpings, a nonprofit that collects food for people in needs and trains them for careers. But this year, it was an online streaming event where Hoosier musicians performed one-hit wonders.

“We knew that taking a year off wasn’t an option: It’s never been more important to support Second Helpings and help feed our neighbors,” Ben Shine, co-chair of Tonic Ball, told IndyStar in October. “But we also need to put on a great party, a real show with a big heart. That’s what Tonic Ball is all about."

Dance Kaleidoscope released "Puccini People Plus," which included a spotlight on retiring dancer Jillian Godwin, in October to on-demand audiences. Its next streaming concert will be in January. Likewise, Indiana Repertory Theatre opened its season virtually in December with "This Wonderful Life," a single-actor show that springs from the iconic movie.

Plenty of other traditional holiday fare, like the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Yuletide, has taken on a new life online as well.

Businesses find a safer haven outdoors

With so many community activities off the table, neighborhood associations began turning to food trucks.

The trucks were too happy to follow the customers from downtown offices to their homes for pop-ups. One group, Friends of Fred, started matching food trucks to neighborhoods requesting dinnertime pop-ups and found itself fielding about 20 inquiries a day.

The tactic helped the food trucks supplement sales lost from their regular modes of operation while providing meals for residents reluctant to visit restaurants, as well as opportunities to more safely socialize outside. Over the summer, entertainment venues found creative spots to help them earn some revenue.

The Fonseca Theatre Co. built a stage in its parking lot with 65 socially distant seats. The setup helped the theater speak to the racial justice protests by performing works like "Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies." The Hi-Fi Annex, which was created out of a shipping container, was installed in Fountain Square. Interactive artspace Healer constructed the Mad Max Katz Art Park with two old RVs that stood just beyond a stage on the southeast side. The Indy Eleven Theatre at IndyFringe opened its hangar door and became a hub for movies, music and a modern comedy inspired by Shakespeare.

“If we’re going to have any chance at survival, I can’t let it all rest on an indoor club,” Hi-Fi owner Josh Baker told IndyStar in July.

The public can expect the return of many of these outdoor spots and more in 2021. And while chillier weather has shut down some for the season, other outdoor entertainment has continued. Newfields launched Harvest Nights as part of a spooky monthlong expansion to the fall festival that debuted in 2019.

The art and nature campus' Winterlights, which guides visitors through a tour of its lit-up grounds, has proven to be popular for the fourth year in a row. Likewise, Christmas at the Zoo and A Merry Prairie Holiday at Conner Prairie offer distanced outdoor experiences.

Being indoors presents new challenges

Brad Grossman sees comedy as a necessary balm to process everything that's gone on this year. George Carlin, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams helped him at different points in his life. Now, his business is to facilitate the same for audiences as the chief operating officer and partner of Helium Comedy Club, which has a location downtown. Helium has been operating at a reduced capacity since mid-June.

"This isn't just me fighting for my industry of comedy and music. I know that's where I heal," said Grossman, who's a member of the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance.

"I think there's a group of comedians who either need it economically or are willing and can do it safely or feel the need to tell jokes right now and to start the healing process of our country because we're going through so many different things."

To survive, Grossman said, the club has negotiated new terms with comics. Helium has had to reduce its payroll as well, but he said it has retained more staff because employees want to share hours. Between performances, ushers wear backpack sprayers to disinfect surfaces and the air. Food comes in to-go containers.

Masks are required unless patrons are eating or drinking. While Grossman said Helium customers have adjusted well, that hasn't been the case for everyone. Hospitality workers have had to contend with rudeness and even threats over enforcement of the mask mandate.

Others have found safe ways to move entertainment indoors as well. Museums have landed among lower-risk entertainment thanks to the freedom to move, and they continue to provide opportunities to celebrate the holidays on-site through experiences like The Children's Museum's Jolly Days Winter Wonderland and the Eiteljorg Museum's Jingle Rails.

Performing arts venues, however, have experienced even more hurdles planning multiple reopening scenarios based on government restrictions, people's comfort levels and their own costs. The Jazz Kitchen reopened in November after distancing its floor plan and upgrading its sanitization. It's offering holiday catering, carryout and December shows that include the Indianapolis Jazz Collective, Rob Dixon and Brenda Williams, among others.

Sometimes, even the most carefully laid plans had to change during a volatile year. Indianapolis Ballet was going to move its "Nutcracker Sweets" from the Murat at Old National Centre, where it typically fit 2,000 people a night, into the smaller Toby at Newfields. But given the number of coronavirus cases and local restrictions, it decided in early December to cancel the in-person option and just present an on-demand filmed performance.

"We can't get comfortable (and say) 'Oh, we're fine,' " artistic director Victoria Lyras told IndyStar in November about planning survival in 2020. "We're not fine."

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter: @cherylvjackson.