The restaurants were hosting Friday night for customers to re-enter their doors.
“It will be a big burden to get off our shoulders and get people back inside the house,” said Rob Pelszinski, owner of Mount Airy Taproom.
Its restaurant and bar opened in 2019, six months before the city closed its first restaurants due to the release of COVID-19 in March.
Pelszinski said that his dining room and his team are ready to welcome customers again. A heated outdoor patio and take-out service helped support your restaurant, but they are not enough.
“It’s difficult. You don’t get rich by paying rent for a restaurant that you can’t sit in,” said Pelszinski.
In southern Philadelphia, Bridget Foy said she is excited to show off her new dining room for the first time on Saturday.
SEE ALSO: Bridget Foy’s reopens with a pop-up coffee after a devastating fire
A fire destroyed Bridget Foy’s local bar and cuisine in 2017.
“With 25% of capacity, our tables are socially distant. We are very lucky to have an entirely new HVAC system, so ventilation is excellent, ”said Foy.
Dining in Philadelphia restaurants has been banned since November 20.
On Saturday, January 16, restaurants may reopen, but must follow strict restrictions.
SEE ALSO: Indoor dining will resume on January 16 in Philadelphia, but with restrictions
They can only operate at 25% capacity and without boom seats. No more than four people can sit at the table, and they must be from the same family.
Guests must wear masks unless they are actively eating or drinking.
While restaurant owners are eager to reopen, they know that there are challenges in convincing people to eat indoors.
Pelszinski said that he and his team are taking all possible precautions, but he realizes that this is not necessarily enough for some customers.
This has been the second ban on indoor meals during the pandemic so far. From March 16 to September 8, there were no indoor meals. City officials then allowed restaurants to open at 25% capacity, raising the limit to 50% on October 2, before the most recent ban came into force on November 20.
Pennsylvania restaurants outside Philadelphia reopened indoor meals with limited capacity on January 4.
Restaurants must go through a self-certification process to reach 50% of capacity, otherwise they are limited to 25%.
Philadelphia is also allowing other “riskier” settings and activities to resume on Saturday. Theaters and presentation spaces can reopen with a maximum limit of 10 percent for the total number of participants, including employees. If maximum occupancy is unknown, allow 10 people per 1,000 square feet. All gifts must be masked and no food or drink is allowed.
Colleges can also resume face-to-face classes.
Philadelphia, along with the rest of the state, reopened less risky environments, like museums, gyms and casinos on January 4 as well.
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