Dine-in service returns to some restaurants — with restrictions
Dine-in service resumed at Hot Springs restaurants that chose to do so on Monday, and workers at one eatery said that while directives limiting capacity and imposing added precautions are time-consuming, they were happy to be open again.
“I just want everyone to know that the rules that we have to open by (are) something that have been established by the health department, (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and the governor of Arkansas. It’s kind of inconvenient sometimes if you have to wear a mask and follow the rules, but these are the only conditions that we can open by,” said Jenniffer
“Sad Girl” Vinson, manager of Diablos Tacos & Mezcal.
“We have all these signs posted all over the restaurant. All of this is done not only for your safety but for the safety of our employees, as well, ” Vinson said.
“This morning I was like a little kid going to school on the first day. I am really excited, really glad to see our customers and our regulars. I’m happy to be back and happy to be working and almost back to normal,” server Destiny Eligio said.
“(The extra precautions) just make it a little more time consuming but at the end of the day, it’s about our customers and the relationships we build with them. I’m just happy to be back,”
Eligio said. “I feel safer, even with people coming from out of town. We’re ready for visitors, we’re taking all the precautions we need to, and we’re just ready and happy to be back.”
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced in late April that restaurants could begin a phased resumption of dine-in service Monday, with restrictions.
Those restrictions include limiting the number of customers to one-third of total capacity; tables that are 10 feet apart so that diners will be seated 6 feet away from diners at other tables; each employee who directly interacts with patrons must wear a face mask that
completely covers nose and mouth; and patrons must wear a face covering until the food or drink is served.
“This really hasn’t affected our dining experience. Fortunately, we can take our masks off to eat,” Randy Rhea, of Georgia, said.
“It is really wonderful to be able to come into a restaurant. I was telling Randy this is the first time since early March that I’ve eaten at a restaurant. … For now, I think (the precautions) are necessary. I’m hoping by mid-summer that masks will be a thing of the past, but right now it’s fine to be cautious. I think it really is,” Paul Beavin, also of Georgia, said.
The pair brought their motorcycles to northern Arkansas using a trailer and are “day-tripping” to different parts of the state on their motorcycles. They decided to stop and dine at Diablos on Monday.
City Manager Bill Burrough on Friday issued a directive to allow restaurants to offer extended outdoor dining beginning Monday “in an effort to support the overall resurgence of Arkansas’ number one tourist designation — Hot Springs — and to keep residents and visitors safe,” the city said in a news release.
The directive, the release said, “hopes to provide restaurants the ability to increase their customer capacity from the 33% indoor requirement with the use of outdoor areas, which may include underutilized parking lots.”
The directive is effective beginning Monday through Aug.
1, “or at the time the Governor allows restaurants to function at
100% capacity,” the release said.