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Under the plan recommended by a statewide restaurant-and-health advisory panel and adopted by Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio’s restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen patios and outside dining on Friday and dining rooms for inside dining on May 21, under restrictions and guidelines designed to ensure safety for workers and customers.
Those guidelines state that restaurants must ensure a minimum of six feet between parties while dining or waiting for a table, and if that’s not possible, to utilize barriers or other protective devices. Restaurants also must ensure a minimum of six feet between employees, and if that’s not possible, utilize barriers and increase the frequency of surface cleaning, handwashing and sanitizing.
Rather than restrict restaurants to a percentage of their original seating capacity – other states have used 50 percent of fire-code capacity, for example – Ohio will ask businesses to rework their floor plan to ensure social distancing under its six-feet-apart or physical-barrier rules.
Parties of 10 or less can be seated together, for example, but each group in the restaurant must be kept separated from other parties, either my distance or barriers. The restaurant advisory group said how that separation is achieved is up to the business. It could mean high-backed booths are used, or Plexiglas dividers could be installed.
Restaurants and bars will decide if customers will be required to wear masks in the establishment.
At sushi burrito restaurant Roll On In’s Hamilton location, co-owner Michael McCarthy said the restaurant would continue to operate its carryout and delivery options but take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to indoor dining.
That’s because seating before the pandemic numbered about 20 in Roll On In’s modest-sized dining area, but due to the six-feet social distancing requirement, only 10 people at a time could be seated. In addition, tables are fastened to the floor.
“Keeping that six-foot minimum would be very, very difficult,” McCarthy said.
Rise-N-Shine, a new breakfast-and-brunch restaurant that opened earlier this year in the other half of the space at 102 Main St. with Roll On In, will hold off on reopening for about a month or so, he said.
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“We didn’t have much time before this all happened to really gain a solid customer base,” McCarthy said. “Our fear is that if we try to open up in the midst of all this that we’re just going to have employees standing around.”
Before the pandemic reached Ohio, Roll On In found that 75 percent of its business came from carryout and the remainder from dine-in service, he said.
“It’s not a big thing to just continue on with what we’ve been doing,” McCarthy said.
Capitalizing on this Friday’s patio service option is not really a consideration, as sidewalk space outside of the restaurant is narrow and traffic can often get loud, he said.
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Ephraim Skally, co-owner at Skally’s in West Chester Twp., said he agrees with Ohio opening up dining slowly so customers can become comfortably reacclimated to dining out.
The restaurant, which opened in 2018, already has a patio, so the Friday outdoor dining option presents no challenge.
But when indoor seating reopens May 21, the biggest task to tackle will be seeing if customers feel safe enough to come and dine out again, he said. Skally’s also will work to ensure there is at least six feet between tables, and customers may be seated at every other booth.
All servers will wear masks, Skally said.
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Staffing will return from four employees back to 30, as servers, bartenders and dish washers are rehired for dine-in service, he said.
“We’re hoping that all the carryout business that we’ve gained during this crisis will hopefully maintain or maybe increase, so in case someone can’t get a table, maybe they’ll still come in and maybe order pizza or sandwiches to go, we’ll just whip it out for them real quick,” Skally said.
Abe Shteiwi, owner of Bourbon’s Craft Kitchen & Bar, said DeWine taking the time to meet with restaurant owners from across the state has meant fair restrictions for reopening.
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The restaurant will install dividers between tables and at the bar for guests to feel safe and more easily practice social distancing. Other changes include ordering masks and putting hand sanitizers for guests and employees throughout the building, including tables and the host and service stations.
While he is excited to get the restaurant reopened, it won’t be opening Friday for patio service. Instead, it is planning to reopen May 21 with both dine-in and patio service.
“We’re just more focused on the big picture than trying to just make something work for the patio at this time,” Shteiwi said. “We’re going to take our time and make sure we get it right.”
The restaurant plans to hire all 11 furloughed employees, bringing staffing back to 15 employees.
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“I think it’s going to be a rough road to recovery,” he said. “Are a lot of people going to be OK with coming back into restaurants? We’re hoping that they are. rough road to recovery. guests. hoping they are. We’re going to try and make it as safe and as efficient as possible for everybody.”
Shteiwi said he can see why some would believe Ohio should have reopened restaurants earlier, but ultimately understands the decision behind the slower rollout to reopening.
A rushed opening would have been “completely detrimental” for the economy and any small business, he said.
“I would rather do it right the first time than have to repeat it again a second time because that would be a huge, huge loss for any small business owner,” he said. “Who knows if you have the money to reopen again because obviously you’re taking a hit. I don’t think restaurants or small businesses could take another hit.”
Ohio’s reopening schedule
May 12: Consumer, retail and services
May 15: patio dining, plus barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and spas
May 21: indoor dining
Six ways that dining at a restaurant will be different when they reopen May 21 in Ohio:
• No more self-serve salad bars, buffets or drink stations.
• Condiments, straws, stir sticks, vases and other items will be gone from tables.
• Hang out areas, such as dance floors or arcade games, will be closed unless they’re being used for table seating.
• Your party will be limited to 10 people and will be seated at least six feet away from other groups or separated by a physical barrier.
• Face coverings are recommended at all times, except while eating.
• Kitchen staff will be spread out to abide social distancing rules.
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