Restaurant Restart: State Releases Guidelines For Restaurants To Move Towards Reopening
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Restaurants across California can begin preparations to reopen their dining rooms after the state released their long list of guidelines and requirements Tuesday.
Dine-in restaurants fall under Stage 2 of the state's reopening plan, but some areas are able to move through the phase quicker than others.
READ MORE: Several Northern California Counties Get OK To More Quickly Reopen
Restaurant employees can expect to have staggered shifts with their temperatures taken before each one. Face masks and coverings are strongly encouraged. But the two keywords are essential for all: physical distancing.
It's something that will look different for each restaurant, and Fox & Goose owner Jessa Berkey is already looking into her options.
"We're working with so many to really come up with creative ideas," Berkey said. "When we are able to open for dine-in there are some options businesses have."
Governor Gavin Newsom says there's no one size fits all approach. Other states have capped capacities at percentage levels like 25-30% of a restaurant's normal occupancy. Here in California, Newsom said, we're flexible.
"We decided not to be prescriptive in those regards, giving flexibility to spacing," Newsom said. "What we want is physical distancing."
With all these new precautions though, some employees still don't feel the safest returning to work. For others, they're making more money in this unemployment period than before.
Chris Jarosz, the owner at Broderick Midtown, has started to encounter this already.
"We're already talking to staff members who are hoping to ride out unemployment as opposed to having to come back to work," Jarosz said. "They don't have a lot of incentive to come back to work when some people may be concerned it's not a safe environment."
Berkey knows this could become a reality for many more restaurant owners, too. She says for many employees, though, the incentive of some sort of normalcy in life may be enough to return.
"There is that connection to the community that people are sorely missing right now," Berkey said.
But as restaurant owners ponder the problem, they're also left to discuss how functioning on a smaller scale would work. Governor Newsom addressed this in his Tuesday press briefing.
"If you bring back staff – you want to maximize those peak hours and get as many people as you possibly can during that dinner period," Newsom said. "If we have to modify – we do because of health considerations."
Fewer tables to serve could still mean less staff depending on the occupancy at each restaurant.
"We might not have the shifts or the hours that can help those families and employees meet those financial obligations," Berky said.
Even then, how busy will they be? Some people aren't even ready to step out of the house and into a restaurant again.
People like Jessica Eaton are ready to help local restaurants by eating inside and thrilled about the idea of not grabbing to go.
"Not making your own food or taking it home to be cold," Eaton said. "To some degree being able to eat at least outside."
The thought of this new normal has some people, like Rachel Sniderman, still a little on edge.
"Even being in Safeway – there's so many people not wearing masks and stuff," Sniderman said. "I think I'd play it safe and continue to stay at home."
Berkey says she understands their concerns but adds restaurants need to be prepared to accommodate anyone who stops - including all of their anxieties.
"We're going to have to manage those expectations," Berkey said. "Do our best to support each individual with the common good at heart."
Governor Newsom hasn't said when people can eat at their favorite establishment again in Sacramento, but they'll have to abide by the state's new guidelines by physically distancing as much as possible.
