Some Bartholomew County restaurants began reopening their dining areas Monday, after several weeks of carry-out or delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But not all of them. Some are holding off until mid-June, or when supply chains of product are restored.
Monday marked the beginning of Stage Two of five stages outlined May 1 by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb for reopening Indiana’s economy. Besides restaurants, it was also the day that all personal services, such as salons and barbershops, were allowed to open their doors again by appointment only.
Under Stage Two, restaurants are limited to 50% seating capacity until June 14, when eateries are tentatively scheduled to start allowing 75% of their seats to be filled.
Some restaurant owners aren’t opening however, because they can’t afford to rehire staff when only being able to seat half the normal number of customers and not being allowed to open their bar areas, which are significant revenue producers for restaurants.
In the Columbus Municipal Airport terminal building, airport officials have asked Blackerby’s Hangar 5 Restaurant to hold off on reopening its dining room, owner Wayne Blackerby said.
Although Hangar 5 is still providing carry-out and curbside service, the owner says he’s not in a big hurry.
“The big issue with many restaurants is going to be that they can’t get product,” Blackerby said. “We can’t get beef, pork, and even some basic stuff like gravies.”
Nevertheless, Blackerby says he’s hopeful supply chains are restored in time for Hangar 5 to reopen on June 1st — but he made no promises.
Another restaurant waiting until the beginning of June to reopen its dining room is Arni’s, 2765 Brentwood Drive.
When asked about the delay in reopening, manager Dedra Abts says the decision was made by the owners of all 18 Arni’s restaurants across central and southern Indiana.
The owners did not explain the reason for the delay to their staff, Abts said. However, she was told her restaurant will continue to provide carryout and delivery service.
Two restaurants that did reopen their dining areas Monday did not experience any type of lunch-time rush.
“It’s been a little slow,” said Robin Lapidus, co-owner of Special Dogs, 217 Washington St. “We get a lot of foot traffic from downtown, but right now, there’s still not much foot traffic. The colder weather has also had an impact.”
While Special Dogs and More cannot find a pork supplier for their tenderloins, they are able to use an East Coast firm to get hot dogs, Lapidus said. In addition, the restaurant still has a sufficient amount of ground beef, she said.
At all restaurants that open their dining areas, staff are required to sanitize tables, menus, chairs and pens after each customer leaves, according to Holcomb’s guidelines. Customers are also supposed to be being given an option to use disposable plates and utensils, instead of regular flatware.
At the Cozy Lounge, located in Holiday Center near 25th Street and Taylor Road, the dining area opened for the first time in several weeks Monday.
However, the number of lunches sold during the lunch hour was about the same as when they were limited to carryout, co-owner Amy Gilham said. In addition, the kitchen has been out of fish for about a week, and the supply of onion rings is low, Gilham said.
Last week, all tables at the Cozy Lounge were placed 6 feet apart, every other booth was closed, and all stools were removed from the bar.
Nevertheless, Gilham said the dining room was a joyous place during the lunch period Monday.
While customers sat at separate tables and maintained social distancing, they were still talking to one another from a short distance after not seeing one other for several weeks, Gilham said.
