Coronavirus fears have El Paso restaurateurs and retail outlets grappling with operational changes and empty shelves. Here are some retail outtakes:

Macy's, Nordstrom Rack stores temporarily closing

Macy’s store in Cielo Vista Mall and Nordstrom Rack in The Fountains at Farah are among stores being temporarily closed nationwide by the two retail chains.

Officials for Macy’s and for Nordstrom, Inc., said in statements that they would continue to pay their store employees and continue their benefits.

Macy’s officials plan to work with government and health officials to determine when its stores can reopen.

Nordstrom plans to reopen in two weeks, according to its press release.

Starbucks' move hurts virtual workers

El Paso businessman Rudy Flores couldn't do his usual workday routine at an East El Paso Starbucks Monday morning because it and thousands of other corporate-operated Starbucks across the country stopped allowing patrons to stay inside its cafes and outdoor patios as the company attempts to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

"I take my laptop and work there a couple of hours" each weekday morning, said Flores, 51, a self-employed logistics broker.

"I don't know if I'm taking this too lightly, or there's an overreaction to the entire (coronavirus) situation," Flores said as he sat in his pickup with a cup of Starbucks coffee in his hand.

Starbucks locations in El Paso Albertsons stores also are not allowing people to use the sitting areas.

"I haven't bought extra toilet paper or water, that's for sure," he said, referring to the surge of consumers' panic buying those and other items nationwide in recent days.

Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Whataburger close dining rooms

The Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, which has several El Paso locations, also has temporarily closed its dining rooms and is using its drive-throughs and, in some cases, allows takeout from the restaurants.

McDonald's officials late Monday afternoon said the chain will close all dining rooms and play areas at its corporate-owned locations beginning Tuesday and will shift to serving through drive-throughs and walk-in takeout orders. Company officials expect many franchised locations will do the same. Richard Castro, who owns most of El Paso's McDonald's locations, was not immediately available for comment.

Whataburger announced on its official Twitter account that it will close all its dining rooms as of Tuesday afternoon. Select closures began Monday. Customers are able to order online and pick up food in the drive-through or through curbside service.

Peter Piper Pizza, Applebee's franchise owner tries to stay abreast of changes

Kirk Robison, who owns the Peter Piper Pizza and Applebee's restaurant franchises in El Paso and Las Cruces, said his restaurants saw business decrease in the past few days due to fears of the coronavirus outbreak and government leaders calling for social distancing.

The restrictions are "changing by the hour, and we're adjusting as we need to," Robison said Monday morning.

He said Tuesday that he doesn't see President Donald Trump's recommendation that Americans avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people for 15 days applying to restaurants.

"You get different guidance from different politicians," Robison said.

Peter Piper locations have temporarily stopped their luncheon buffets, he said.

"We've taken some tables out of service" in New Mexico to confirm with the New Mexico governor's order to have patrons at one table separated at least 6 feet from another table, he said. Restaurants also can't have more than 100 people at a time in New Mexico, which might only be a problem on weekends, Robison said.

"We're getting ready to do (table) spacing in El Paso" as a voluntary measure because Texas and El Paso have no mandates on that yet, he said.

More: El Paso, Las Cruces Applebee's locations sold to Peter Piper operator

Peter Piper and Applebee's both do a lot of takeout orders, he said. And Applebee's uses a food-delivery service.

"We can weather this; we are incredibly strong financially. But when there is a significant drop in revenue, it affects the bottom line. We're just starting to see that impact now. We'll know more in the next few weeks," he said.

El Paso restaurateur: 'It's a natural disaster'

Fiean Liem, who owns four El Paso restaurants (two Koze Teppan Grills, the Greenery and the recently opened Nomi), said he plans to have curbside takeout available at all his restaurants by Tuesday, and he's looking at expanding his use of food delivery services to all his restaurants.

Business at his restaurants has significantly declined in recent days, especially at the Greenery in Sunland Park Mall in West El Paso because it draws an older demographic, he said.

"We're just hunkering down and doing our best to be as sanitary as possible," Liem said.

Customers are being distanced from each other when restaurants aren't busy, Liem said.

And he and his staff Monday morning were discussing how they could institute distancing measures during busy times, he said.

More: New restaurant on the West Side, Nomi, combines Japanese with other cuisines

Whether his restaurants can financially weather the coronavirus storm "is a big concern," he said. "We'll try to hang on as long as we can and be creative."

There are some risks to eating out, Liem conceded. "But if you take precautions, the risk is manageable," he said.

"I think the restaurant industry will get through this, but there will be some casualties," Liem said. "It's a natural disaster. What can you do?"

Mesa Street Grill moves solely to takeout, delivery

Mesa Street Grill, a longtime West El Paso restaurant, has closed its dining rooms and has shifted to curbside pickup and delivery, restaurant owner Aaron Means announced on a notice posted on the restaurant’s website.

“While there is currently no official state government mandate for us to close our operations, we know this is the right decision to protect the health and safety of our staff, their families and the extended community,” Means wrote.

The restaurant is at 3800 N. Mesa St.

Mesa Grill’s chef and his staff are creating new menus and wine lists for the new takeout and delivery services, he said. Customers will get gift cards with orders for when inside dining resumes.

“Our entire senior staff will be moving to line positions to run the kitchen's phones, and delivery services,” Means said.

The restaurant’s 53 employees will be affected, he noted.

“Of the ones that will be furloughed, we will do everything we can to help ease their burden during this difficult time," Means said.

Walmart, Target, Albertsons reduce store hours

Meanwhile, Walmart and Albertsons, which dominate the grocery market in El Paso, have reduced hours as they try to keep up with increased sales from shoppers who have been buying up food staples, such as beans and rice; paper products; cleaning supplies; and other products in what President Donald Trump and others have called hoarding. Officials have asked people to stop it.

Walmart stores in El Paso are no longer operating 24 hours a day. They now operate 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Albertsons has cut two hours from its store hours, opening at 7 a.m., and closing at 11 p.m.

It also is setting aside 7-9 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, as special shopping hours for senior citizens and other at-risk populations, such as pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

Nancy Keane, a spokeswoman for Albertsons Southwest region headquarters in Phoenix, said Monday that the stores in El Paso and the entire Southwest have been busier than usual in the past several days. Other grocery chains have seen the same trend.

Truck deliveries continue as usual, but supplies vary store by store, Keane said.

The reduced hours give employees a break and give them time to restock the stores and make them look good, she said.

Many shelves, which normally had paper products, water, beans and other high-demand items, remained bare at one East Side Albertsons on Monday morning. Many shelves remained empty for those type of items at an East Side Target store Monday morning.

Target stores on March 18 began closing two hours early to allow employees more time to stock shelves and clean the store, the company announced in a press release. That means Target stores in El Paso will be open 8 a.m.-9 p.m., daily. Also, It is reserving the first hour of shopping each Wednesday for the “elderly and those with underlying health concerns.”

Several retailers, including Dollar General, Albertsons, and El Paso's Vista Markets are setting aside early shopping hours for senior citizens and at-risk individuals. Call stores you shop at to ask if they have adopted or plan to adopt this policy.

Barnes & Noble reduces hours

El Paso's two Barnes & Noble bookstores reduced operating hours by four hours daily to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sunday, as "a precautionary measure," according to posts on the El Paso stores' Facebook pages and at its stores. Sunday hours remain 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Cielo Vista Mall closing

Cielo Vista Mall will close March through March 29, Simon Property Group, the mall's owner announced. Simon is closing all of its malls and shopping centers nationwide. The mall is located at Interstate 10 and Hawkins Boulevard in East Central El Paso.

"The health and safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees is of paramount importance and we are taking this step to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities," David Simon, Simon CEO, said in a statement.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter.