Photos via Vintage Press

Throughout the ‘80s, ‘90s and even into the 2000s, restaurateur Greg Vartanian wore a tie to work every day at the Vintage Press. But as guests’ dress became more casual, he noticed his dressing up made people less comfortable. Vartanian had to adapt.

The “Wall Street Journal” recently reported that Michelin-star-rated Le Bernardin in New York did away with its jackets-required policy for good after having relaxed the rule in response to Covid safety guidelines. French Laundry in Northern California, once a bastion of elegance, also relaxed its jacket requirement in the past couple of years.

In the past, if diners didn’t meet a restaurant’s dress code, loaner coats would be available to avoid turning anyone away. But with revamped sanitation standards prompted by Covid-19, the practice came to an abrupt end. Now it’s the dress codes that are being done away with.

The Vintage Press in Visalia never had a dress code, Vartanian said. But guests would still dress up for what is still considered one of the Central Valley’s most upscale restaurants.

 

“The dress code isn’t that the restaurant wants to dictate how someone should dress — the restaurant wants everyone to be comfortable,” said Vartanian. “When people do dress to go out for dinner, they’re more comfortable being around people that dress up rather than people that don’t.”

But customer appetite for formality has been eroding over the past few years. And just as people don’t feel comfortable around those dressed more casually, the reverse is true as well. Restaurant owners have to balance accommodating each guest.

Vartanian compares it to the time before smoking in restaurants was outlawed. People did not want to be around people who smoked or vice-versa. At the Vintage Press, they have different rooms for dining depending on what level of dress guests are in.

For fine-dining restaurants, guests are a reflection of the restaurant. There’s a saying, says Vartanian, that “you dress a dining room with your guests.”

It is common practice in high-end restaurants to put people dressed nicely toward the front.

There was a time when Vartanian drew the line at shorts, but that rule has since been relaxed. Tank tops, however, are not allowed for men or women.

While Chris Mariscotti at the Vineyard in Madera has never tried to make his restaurant overly fancy, he has noticed that diners have become more casual. Even wait staff have adapted to the times. Once, servers would have worn ties and a vest — now they wear printed flannels. Mariscotti himself did away with the tie to make guests feel more welcome.

It wasn’t just the level of dress that changed during the pandemic. High-end restaurants had to adapt to safety standards laid out by local health authorities. Many got rid of permanent menus and silverware, which add to the fine-dining aesthetic.

Vartanian was glad when he could reinstitute some of the niceties that went away when Covid entered the scene.

“It’s so much nicer now to be able to put salt and pepper on the table that are in proper salt-and-pepper shakers rather than have to use the little paper salt and peppers,” Vartanian said.

Many restaurants used QR-code menus, which Vartanian’ guests at his restaurant didn’t like. He is doing away with those.

One thing Vartanian doesn’t see coming back are tablecloths. They still use them in some of the rooms at Vintage Press, but largely, tablecloths in restaurants have gone the way of jackets on men.

They can be expensive and require regular cleaning, said Vartanian.

Steakhouses are a good gauge of style — a place you would expect to see a tablecloth at one time, he said. Most new steakhouses in larger cities are now adorned in minimalist style and have bare tables.

Despite becoming more casual, service techniques won’t change, said Vartanian. Women will still be served before men, and servers will attend to older guests before younger ones. But he says restaurants like Le Bernardin aren’t being built anymore.

Stylish-dressing will always be around, said Vartanian. It just might no longer mean a coat and tie.