Despite uncertainty, service industry workers find calm -- and a chance to cook and eat at leisure.

On a sunny afternoon in April, a Home Depot truck backs up into Cortni Knox’s driveway in Seaside to deliver her new, stainless steel, “super smart” General Electric refrigerator. It was a giddy moment for Knox: “I’m so excited about my refrigerator,” she says, adding that she’s been turning to the kitchen to ease tension and uncertainty during the pandemic. For people who love to cook, like Knox, having top-of-the-line kitchen appliances is key to their culinary success and happiness.

As shelter-in-place began, Knox was laid off from her job as a server at Schooners at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. She and her boyfriend had been saving and had big plans to make a down payment on a house in the fall.

“That is going to have to wait,” says Knox, adding that their new refrigerator will be their biggest investment of 2020.

Knox has served tables on the Monterey Peninsula for 28 years. She is one of the 1.2 million food service workers in California. According to the California Restaurant Association, about 30 percent of restaurants will not reopen after shelter-in-place is lifted.

“And if [shelter-in-place] goes on much longer, that number might go up to around 40 percent,” says Teddy Balestreri, chair of the board of directors of the California Restaurant Association, and vice president of hospitality operations for Cannery Row Company. He adds that restaurants generate more sales tax than any other industry in the state – $7 billion annually.

This prognosis of the future of restaurants is concerning to Jason Asmus, who has worked at Crown and Anchor for 13 years, and like Knox, was laid off due to Covid-19.

“What I’m scared about is going back into an uncertain industry and watching myself and all my coworkers struggle,” says Asmus, who is now learning how to slow down on a daily basis. “That’s the weird part, is that time doesn’t really have a whole lot of relevance right now.”

For someone who used to gobble down a meal in two minutes right before working five tables, Asmus is enjoying the leisurely act of chewing his food at home. He’s firing up the grill in his Monterey backyard, cooking up tri-tip and chicken. “I’m probably going to buy some corona pants – I am cooking a lot more,” he says.

Knox is cooking up a storm, too, and is documenting her culinary craft on her Instagram account, @happygirlhappyhour. It’s something she learned from her Cajun grandmother who grew up in New Orleans, then later moved to Carmel Valley, where she raised Knox.

From chicken adobo with buttered rice and sautéed asparagus to a packed pollo asado burrito, Knox can whip up a healthy dose of caramelized Brussel sprouts, too – not to forget the Philly cheesesteak with cauliflower tater tots she made for NFL draft night. She is even adding a little mixology to her repertoire by developing lavender lemon drops and perfecting her margarita recipes, always keeping a bowl of fresh limes on her kitchen counter.

“I post what I make every day. It’s the only thing that is my creative outlet at this point,” she says. “You can only do so much Netflix, you know?”

For Jessica Felton, a certified sommelier and assistant manager at Stillwater Bar and Grill who was furloughed in March, pouring drinks has slowed down now.

“We just go so fast and hard all the time,” she says. “It’s honestly been nice to relax and reflect on the things that really matter. Friends and family are at the top of her list, but so is honing her mixology skills.

She is working on the classic cocktails, perfecting a traditional daiquiri at home, sticking with just rum, lime and simple syrup, and avoiding the blender. “It’s not the froufrou kind of drink you’d normally get.”

Despite the state of uncertainty, Felton plans to further her sommelier education and continue to work in food and beverage industry for as long as she can.

For Knox, it’s cooking for her boyfriend and two kids that’s keeping her going for now. “Food is what makes me think of family and friends and the important things,” says Knox. “And service is part of that too. I guess at home you are still a server. I guess I’m still doing that in a way, you know?”