San Morello in Detroit (Photo: Facebook)
It's not easy running a restaurant or bar during a pandemic. Dining rooms reopen, then they must shut.
After closing indoor seating at bars and restaurants in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave the green light for inside dining to resume today with limits.
Under the new three-week order, restaurants and bars:
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Can have 25 percent capacity up to 100 people
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Must close by 10 p.m. (no curfew for outside service)
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Can't have more than six people per table
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Must space tables at least six feet apart
Seating limits lead some spots to delay reopening dining rooms, a decision made by Supino's Pizza in Detroit and Stage Deli in West Bloomfield. Others set limited hours to avoid having staff costs exceed revenues from one-quarter capacity dining rooms.
Selden Standard in Midtown Detroit restarts dine-in service just for dinner and only four days a week. "We’ll take a few weeks to evaluate those services before adding other dinner or daytime offerings," an email advises Monday.
Detroit News food writer Melody Baetens suggests other guidelines:
Wear [a mask] when your server comes to your table to take your order. It doesn't hurt anything, and it adds another layer of protection for both you and the restaurant's employee. ...
Expect the unexpected. Bring your patience. ... Tip well.
Rules are eased as states around the country brace for a possible spread of three Covid variants.
Related:
'Stand Up Michigan:' Some small restaurants resist state rules on indoor dining, Jan. 31
(Graphic: State of Michigan)
