Veteran Jersey Shore restaurateur Tim McLoone is known for his upbeat persona and attitude, but Monday was hard, real hard.

On Monday, McLoone laid off nearly 1,000 employees across his 11 New Jersey restaurants, which includes McLoone's Pier House in Long Branch and McLoone's Rum Runner in Sea bright.

"Nobody's blaming us, but it feels terrible," McLoone said. "There was a lot crying in this office today."

The governors in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut took an extraordinary step to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic: shuttering the dining rooms at bars and restaurants around the region at 8 p.m. Monday. Only to-go and delivery orders are allowed.

"With all we are seeing in our state — and across our nation and around the world — the time for us to take our strongest, and most direct, actions to date to slow the spread of coronavirus is now," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

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The measure is expected to have a profound impact. More than 258,000 people worked in food services and drinking establishments around the Garden State as of January, according to New Jersey Labor and Workforce Development figures that are not seasonally adjusted.

The weekend brought a patchwork of decisions in towns around New Jersey. For instance, Red Bank ordered the closure of business with an occupancy greater than 25, including restaurants, bars and theaters. Asbury Park ordered all bars and restaurants to close by 10 p.m.

"Having something that is statewide is like ripping off the Band-Aid," said Marilou Halvorsen, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association, who spoke with state officials on Sunday night.

She didn't mince words.

"People should be prepared that some of their favorite restaurants may not necessarily be open when this is over," Halvorsen said. "The shorter time we are in this isolation period, the better chance for a restaurant's survival. The longer will just slowly erode them."

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Many restaurants will now re-tool to concentrate on delivery and to-go operations. McLoone said his company will close some locations, centralize for takeout, try to gauge demand and offer a 15 percent discount on orders.

But he's not sure how much demand there is for to-go food.

"If you see all the run on the food stores and all the people are planning on eating at home, then they're going to view this as a luxury," McLoone said. "And I think there's going to be a big cutback on luxury."

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Matthew Borowski, owner of 618 Restaurant in Freehold, said his restaurant will be taking to-go orders.

"This is probably the worst business day in my life," said Borowski, whose restaurant employs about 80 people. "You're thinking the more I can keep people doing the better," he said, adding, "We are trying to do the best we can."

Rob Nagel, owner of Surf Taco, had already planned to close his restaurants' dining rooms and offer to-go and delivery service only.

"We just wanted to kind of take the initiative and shut down the in-dining experience for now, suspend that until further notice and focus on just pick up and delivery," Nagel said. Customers are encouraged to download and order through the restaurant's smartphone app.

"You place a call. We'll run it out to you," Nagel said.

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He said he has contacted his bank to see if there is a way to keep going, such as a bridge loan, and keep people employed.

"I'm also just being realistic about the longevity of this of when this actually turns around," Nagel said. "I don't think two weeks is enough time to make that happen. Is it eight? We don't know. ... So every day we are just learning more information."

Restauranteur David Burke, owner of Drifthouse by David Burke, said New Jersey's announcement was "terrible news."

"If the idea is to get people contained so we can control this, it is what it is," Burke said. "It is going to be a financial hardship for industry professionals."

He is changing the menu at Drifthouse to offer more "family meal friendly options."

But he expected layoffs. Takeout orders might make up 15% to 20% of lost business, he said. It doesn't require the same amount of staff. "People aren't drinking," he said. "They are not buying dessert."

Some restaurants are just shutting down operations. In an Instagram post, Porta, Brickwall and Pascal & Sabine announced they are closing for dine-in and take-out "until further notice."

"Love opens all doors. But sometimes, love has to close them," the post states, with the comment, "The letter we really didn't want to write."

David P. Willis: dwillis@gannetnj.com