Gov. Wolf: Restaurants in yellow counties can begin outdoor dining services June 5
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday released new guidelines for outdoor dining during the yellow phase, as well as general guidelines for the green phase as counties gradually reopen.
Restaurants and retail food services in yellow counties, including Allegheny andWestmoreland, can begin outdoor dining services June 5, with some restrictions.
Indoor areas must remain closed other than through-traffic, and customers being served outside must be seated at a table. Self-service options like salad bars and condiment and drink stations will be prohibited.
Condiments may only be dispensed by employees upon request of a customer. Restaurants can’t distribute reusable menus.
During the green phase, indoor dining at 50% occupancy may also take place in restaurants. Bar seating may be utilized if customers comply with physical distancing of six feet or if there are physical barriers between customers. A maximum of four customers that have a “common relationship” may sit together at the bar, Wolf said.
Standing in a bar area is not allowed.
Eighteen counties are scheduled to move into the green phase Friday.
As we reopen our commonwealth, we're also reopening restaurants and bars.
? Red phase: Carry-out and delivery only
? Yellow phase: Outdoor dining permitted (effective 6/5)
? Green phase: Indoor dining permitted with safety guidance in placeMore: https://t.co/1PtuOSDTuM pic.twitter.com/5wR64mC4HM
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 27, 2020
Melissa Bova, vice president of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association (PRLA), said the new guidelines are a “great first step” to help restaurants reopen safely. She hopes implementing outdoor dining will allow restaurants to prove their ability to operate safely.
“I think restaurants have been hoping for this for about three weeks now,” Bova said. “They’re prepared and we’re hoping to make it easier for them.”
Bova said the PRLA is advocating for restaurants to be able to expand outdoor items even more, to “extend the premise to get more creative in those spaces.” She is hopeful that restaurants will be able to repurpose parking lots, sidewalks and streets to increase their seating capacity.
“We appreciate the governor working with us and we look forward to working with the administration to help our industry that’s been more decimated than any in this crisis,” Bova said.
Local restaurants echoed Bova’s sentiment that the guidelines were a starting point. Bill Fuller, president of the Big Burrito Restaurant Group, said many proprietors in the area are holding out hope for an announcement this Friday that would move Allegheny County into the green phase. Big Burrito owns the Mad Mex chain and the restaurants Eleven, Casbah, Kaya, Soba, Umi and Alta Via.
“It’s definitely an opportunity for us to start doing a little business again,” Fuller said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s something.”
Kaya has been open for takeout and delivery for about three weeks, Fuller said, and many of the group’s establishments have been serving since the beginning of the pandemic. But he’s eager to start seeing customers face-to-face again.
While many counties remain in the yellow phase, including most of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine advised that families limit travel and play dates for children, taking precautions to avoid exposure to the virus.
As the state moves forward, Wolf said some restrictions will remain in place for a while, as researchers work “madly, feverishly” to develop a vaccine. Even after the green phase, he said, life will look different than it did before the pandemic.
“For all of us, there’s a new normal,” he said.
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