Restaurants During COVID-19

Restaurants+During+COVID-19

There have been many different effects that COVID-19 has had on the community in Clinton and around the world. One that is important for safety and also still making life feel as it should through a pandemic is the ability to go out to a restaurant.
Due to the pandemic, many changes have been made in local restaurants to make the customers feel safe including dining outside, separation inside, and take out.

Art teacher Jessica Leiss claimed that she does not feel safe going out to eat at restaurants during the pandemic. “We went outside a couple times to eat, but we don’t go anymore,”she explained. The pandemic has changed her dining experience. Two ways that she believed restaurants are being safer is having fewer people dining and keeping different families at least six feet apart.

Senior Kailee Wickham believes that the restaurants are doing their best to keep customers safe while also providing an environment that still has a normal feel to it. “The servers wear masks” was a clear precaution that reassured Kailee that customers were getting their food safely. Kailee has had to make changes on how often her friends and family go out to eat due to many restaurants being only take-out or the restaurant being too filled with people.

Senior Lindsay Narracci has similar perspectives on dining as Kaillee. Lindsay said that nothing has changed about how often she eats out because the restaurants make customers feel safe. She explained that “now outdoor dining is offered more, and your mask has to be worn i

n the common area” which helps her feel safe going out to eat once in a while.

Sophomore Dylan Mazzarella pointed out that “most of the time you have to wear your mask until you are seated, and none of the tables are right next to each other”. The CDC showed that for restaurants to be at low risk of spreading the virus the capacity must be reduced and tables must be at least six feet apart.

A popular restaurant in town is Chow Food & Beverage Co. Chow has been working really hard to keep their customers happy during the pandemic and trying to make their restaurant feel as safe as possible. The restaurant has had to cut down

on seating in its main dining area, but luckily at the beginning of the pandemic they had an ex

tension open for more dining space off the side of the restaurant.

On Sunday, December 13th, the weather was incredibly nice and a lot more customers were dining outside because it is most likely one of the last warm days that we will be having. Many people feel safer due to the open airflow and separation outdoors that Chow has to offer.

Recently, there is a lot of controversy with doctors being worried about indoor dining due to customers needing to take off their masks. Doctors are stating that due to the increasing death toll and sick patients, it is safer to close this option of dining. Since restaurants are already not being able to seat as many customers as they normally would, taking away indoor dining would have a major impact on the restaurants ability to financially support themselves. Monday, December 14th, Connecticut restaurant owners and staff rallied outside the governor’s mansion to fight for financial support due to the pandemic impact on their industry.. Even though Governor Lamont has not closed indoor dining as New York has, restaurants struggle because fewer people are choosing to eat out, and pandemic rules limit the hours and capacity of restaurants.

Restaurants are trying to do their best by giving many different options such as outdoor dining, separation, and take out so that you can choose what fits your safety precautions best.