@conmama, neither do I usually. Which I said in my post. But, this is a different beast.
I would expect my kid to not go to bars/restaurants if he was living with me right now. He’d be expected to stay at home, same as me and H are doing.
But, to each their own.
I don’t know. In an ideal world, lockdowns would continue until an effective treatment or vaccine was found, but that isn’t sustainable. If schools re-open with in person classes, what’s the risk of a college student going to a bar/restaurant vs. sitting in a 50 person class with seats right next to each other? In many work environments, maintaining social distances of 6+ ft. is impossible. What do those people do, if their job doesn’t allow for telework?
Going to class, going to a job where you can’t work from home can be deemed a necessity. Going to bars and restaurants is for pleasure, not a necessity. I would draw a difference between the activities. Each situation is a different vector point for catching and spreading the virus. Minimizing risks means cutting out unnecessary vector points IMO. It is the same reason right now in SIP protocol, we choose to shop every 7-10 days not every few days.
Right, I agree, @doschicos . I’m concerned about restaurant workers, though, for whom other people’s leisure/optional activity is their required source of income.
Have not read this whole thread so maybe this has been posted but my friend who was in China in mid Feb said they spread out tables by removing many and put up plastic, see-through barriers so people are shielded from others when eating, even the people they eat with.
Me, too. For all customer facing jobs. IMO, our government needs to ensure access to and availability of PPE for those businesses employing those people before we can seriously get back to opening up the economy.
How are other states handling alcohol? Michigan is a state with very lax liquor laws (I didn’t know that being able to buy alcohol just in a regular grocery store wasn’t a universal thing until embarrassingly late in my life…) and alcohol to-go is now a thing from restaurants. Including mixed drinks! I haven’t actually taken advantage of this yet but I was wondering if other states were allowing this.
It will be a significant loss for our downtown if our restaurants go under. It’s why the city is trying to drive traffic to the restaurants by offering things like raffles for doing carry out.
It’s easier to be a hermit until 2021 or 2022 if you’re already retired. I understand your point, but don’t see the distinction being maintained for long. If colleges decide to re-open in the fall, which is a big if, it’s going to be difficult to convince college students it’s safe for them to attend classes, live in a dorm, go to work, and eat at the school cafeteria, but going to an off campus bar is too much of a risk.
Restaurants in Colorado didn’t have carry out licenses. Liquor stores sell liquor for in home consumption. But now restaurants can have take out drinks. They put them into plastic cups and seal with a state liquor sticker, that warns that if you open it before getting home, it will be a violation of the open container laws. They can also sell you a bottle/can of beer.
Denver Mayor just announced a ban on liquor in parks at they reopen. They want to open the parks for walking and biking, but not for ball games or picnicking. Basically, go to the parks but keep moving.
Completely agree. As new data comes out that may increase our comfort in certain areas. The data I’m reading on ( very low) outdoor transmission if it holds will probably increase my willingness to go to crowded ( not packed cheek to cheek but not full 6 feet from others every single minute either ) outdoor places like lakefront and parks. Maybe outdoor restaurants too.
One of my favorite restaurants will be closing soon. Owner Said the cook didn’t want to come in and is down to 1 person helping him pack the orders and work the kitchen. He has to do all the cooking, and taking orders. 2 of the employees were infected and now no one wants to go in. I wish he didn’t tell me that. I’ve been ordered from that place at least once per week. I love their Thai food. It’s such a depressing news I completely lost my appetite. Everything tastes like grass in my mouth now.
Maryland is allowing alcohol to-go from restaurants but there are rules for how it is handled. Something about the way it must be packaged up for carry out.
Last week there was a Mexican restaurant that was visiting neighborhoods and selling margaritas to go. It would park and you could order, credit card payment only, and walk off with your beverage. Something must have happened b/c they changed their operation - now you have to place the order NLT the day before they are coming and they deliver directly to your home (but only on the designated day for your neighborhood). We didn’t order any, but this was all info posted on our neighborhood FB page.
I imagine the healthy younger crowed (maybe under 35/40) will go out. My 20 year old tells me he sees on social media that they have stopped distancing.
For me, I can’t imagine eating in a restaurant for a long time. I have a hard time using public restrooms anyway so there is no way that is happening for a very long time.
It all feels like the day the music died.
In Ohio I believe you can order 2 take out alcoholic beverages - somehow that is per person but I don’t drink and haven’t ordered it take out so not sure how it is regulated!
@emilybee I am with you. There is a 45 year old mom in my town hospitalized with Covid who was social distancing but her teens were not. So that is sad and I hope this has a positive outcome because that would be a very hard thing for those kids to live with. If my 20 something is living with me I would expect they would not be eating inside a restaurant or going to bars. Not to mention we have 3 other children here. They can’t make that decision for other people.
I have not read the thread but I say they will come back very carefully. The problem is the workers not being trained properly. They will have masks and gloves on but do you know how many things they touch before getting that meal to you? That’s the problem.
There is one small Thai place with like 6 tables that is basically a take out place with tables. They are fine during this time and probably busier. That “might” be the only one in Chicago I would consider dining in. Weather is getting nicer so that means most of our meals will be at home in the backyard on the deck. There are very few places we would go for take out to bring home anyway. I am blessed with a wife that should be a fine chef. Seriously.
The restaurant where H works has a packaged liquor license as well as the regular restaurant license, so they are selling wine, beer, and cocktail kits.
The restaurants I was laid off from are bending the rules — no packaged liquor license.
Do you have a distributor? We started to carry our local distillery’s vodka when they were picked up by one of the major distributors, Then we ran a lemon drop martini named after them. People were really into it.
The distillery has shifted to making a house brand sanitizer now.
I would definitely go to a restaurant TODAY. Like right now. I’m not joking.
Not interested in restaurants anytime soon. We haven’t done takeout yet, either.
One thing I’m wondering is how the “guidelines” will be incorporated into the public health regulations that restaurants must follow (this goes for other businesses, also). Until/unless the new “guidelines” are actually formalized in regulations, what good are they?
There is an awful lot of depending on people to do the right thing during this pandemic. I see an awful lot of people NOT doing the right thing (ex. not following social distancing).
@Midwest67 yes, we have a distributor, though not one of the really big ones. I think it comes down to price point. I see local restaurants offering bottles of premixed cocktails, but they are things like vodka and lemonade, and if you are offering something like that, you are going to use a cheap vodka, not an artisinal craft one.
The bestselling cocktail using our botanical vodka was created by a restaurant that put a small spoon of rose petal jam at the bottom of the glass – that cocktail FLEW out the door, but isn’t something that could be made into a large batch.
If we decide to go ahead, I think the focus would be heavily online, because that would allow us to get our story out, which is quite strong. But “story” doesn’t = taste . . . Anyway, we have time before we make a decision.