If you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t even think about entering J’s Breakfast Club in Gary, Indiana. Joslyn Kelly is a stickler for Covid-19 safety rules.
Kelly ended takeout service at her soul-food restaurant early in the lock-down after customers failed to follow social-distancing measures. She lost a month of revenue before she resumed May 1, and business has been brisk enough that she put up a sign asking customers to be patient.
Kelly admits only a limited number of people, and only if they’re wearing a mask. Those who aren’t can pay $2 for one, or they can order curb-side delivery from their cars. Restaurants in Lake County were allowed to start reopening for dine-in service from May 18, but Kelly plans to wait another two weeks to take that step.
“We don’t need to be first in all this,” she said.
Other proprietors have eagerly welcomed all patrons desperately fleeing their homes. “They were so excited to be out at a restaurant and out in the world doing things,” said Christy Hackinson, who owns The Alley on Main restaurant in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “Mainly what we heard from people was: Thank you so much for being open, for giving us a place to go.”
The piecemeal approach that the U.S. and various states have taken has angered many business owners, who yearn for safety guidance.
In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Amy Howie was livid at not being allowed to reopen her Papillon Salon even as salons in Georgia snipped and curled — and South Carolina reopened its beaches. But when the governor opened salons May 18 she was “shocked” that the state issued only voluntary guidelines. Among them, staff “should strongly consider” wearing a face mask. Howie’s going further and taking people’s temperature at the door.
“We have not been given any orders,” she said.
In Jersey City, New Jersey, the manager of the Pet Shop vegetarian restaurant and bar wants better instructions from health officials. How are masked patrons supposed to drink and dine? How do bartenders mix drinks and also clear used — and potentially virus-tainted — glassware?
“We would have to change gloves between every customer,” said 37-year-old Jesse Madry. “That’s a lot of gloves and a lot of time, and I don’t know whether you’ve ever been in a bar, but people aren’t too keen on waiting for drinks.”