With Philly starting to slowly creep towards reopening, indoor dining is now open again and operating at a 25% capacity. Indoor dining in Philadelphia was originally scheduled for an early opening in July. but a surge in COVID-19 cases caused the city to postpone those plans.
Now, a few months later, restaurants are now starting to get back into their semi-normal operations, one step at a time. City and state officials also mentioned that good behavior and data could lead to restaurants opening to 50% capacity by September 21. In order for these restaurants to officially increase indoor capacity, they need to complete the state’s online coronavirus safety certification program - which states that they acknowledge the COVID guidelines and rules. With these new reopenings, here are a few examples of the new normal for Philly’s restaurant scene.
As seen from southern states during the summer, indoor dining didn’t last very long. It started on the right track but eventually businesses specifically bars were linked to COVID transmission.
This was believed to have happened because bars didn’t follow the right protocol and ignored capacity rules. Small bars are still likely to remain mostly closed while restaurants with bars can only sell alcohol until 10 p.m each night, in an effort to stop people from drinking too much and disregarding social distance guidelines. There is an eagerness for people to get out of the house and have fun again but with our new normal, we still have to abide by the rules so we can keep everyone as safe as possible.
With Fishtown being one of the most popular spots in Philadelphia for young people, restaurant owners are thrilled that they now have the opportunity to open in some capacity. Some restaurants in Philly adapted by offering outdoor seating and to-go orders but the restaurants who weren’t able to offer these had to remain closed.
With Fishtown being very limited on space, indoors and out, most restaurants there had to remain closed. With these restaurants finally opening back up, their new look may surprise some. Large plexiglass is now required at all restaurants to separate tables and barstools. There has to be an empty table between each group of people to promote social distancing. It may be awhile before we can hear live music again, but at least we’re making progress.
Guidelines are similar to what they were before just with some slight modifications. Restaurants are now going to have to implement more routine COVID checks to keep their businesses open. Workers will be screened the most, to protect the health of themselves and others. Workers will also now have to use biweekly tests and screenings to make sure they are not infected and are safe to show up to work. And at all times, they will have to wear a face shield on top of a mask whenever they are serving a customer or handling food.
The health checks which will be run by the city of Philadelphia are meant to ensure that the restaurants are following guidelines to operate as safely and efficiently as possible.
