El Dorado restaurant to open dine-in service, won’t practice social distancing, owner says
A diner in El Dorado County announced Thursday it would reopen its dining room for full service Friday, spurning the statewide shelter-in-place order limiting the coronavirus’ spread.
Cafe El Dorado will open for breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, owner Cherie Baldridge told The Sacramento Bee.
The cafe at 5787 Pleasant Valley Rd. in the town of El Dorado was pulling in about 10 percent of its typical revenue by only offering takeout food, Baldridge said. She faced an eviction notice and unpaid bills, she said.
“(Takeout) sucked. I’ve been doing it, but I’m not making it,” Baldridge said. “I don’t have a choice. I’m not opening up because I’m greedy, I’m opening up because this is my life.”
Most of the wood-interior diner’s customers are seniors who want to sit and slowly enjoy their meals, Baldridge said. She considered serving food on paper plates upon reopening, but decided her regulars wouldn’t like that either. Cafe El Dorado will have at least one hand sanitizing station inside the restaurant.
El Dorado County asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to relax his social distancing order for certain parts of the state on Tuesday, joining a growing number of cities and counties that have done so.
California restaurants have only been serving food to-go or through delivery services since mid-March under Newsom’s order. Baldridge decided to reopen Wednesday after El Dorado County announced it would allow a countywide stay-at-home directive to expire April 30 but defer to Newsom’s orders on details such as dine-in service.
“I’m just done. I cannot last another month. When I heard we’re going to have to be closed for another month, I just said, ‘nope, can’t do it,’” Baldridge said. “My life savings will be gone. Then what am I going to do, work at McDonalds? Nope, not for me.”
Nearly 2,000 Californians have died due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as of Thursday morning, though the total is likely much higher. El Dorado County has had no known fatal cases thus far.
Baldridge first posted her plans to reopen on Cafe El Dorado’s Facebook page Thursday, calling the decision “a matter of survival.” She said she received more positive comments than negative, and that filling the diner’s 12 tables wouldn’t be difficult.
“I’ve just got to roll with it and see what happens,” she said. “I’m small enough that the customers that support me will support me and get me through this, and the customers that won’t, won’t.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 1:44 PM.