You’ll soon be able to eat inside some California restaurants. Here’s how it will look

Restaurants in El Dorado and Butte counties got the go-ahead from the state Tuesday to begin reopening for dine-in service. To get there, though, they’ll have to make some modifications.

The state’s 12-page plan released Tuesday outlines 99 rules and guidelines for restaurants to follow to seat customers once again. Some requirements are simple tasks already being done at most places open for takeout, such as disinfecting surfaces. Others, such as providing disposable menus, installing high-efficiency air filters and seating all parties six feet apart, will take more effort.

Restaurants must clearly display a set of rules for customers and staff upon entry, such as instructing them to use hand sanitizer and not unnecessarily touch surfaces. Customers will have to wear masks when not eating or drinking and be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the door. All servers, bussers, managers and other employees who will get within six feet of customers must wear masks, which are “strongly encouraged” for back-of-house staff, as well.

Table settings and condiments must be delivered per party, not be left out in anticipation of customers to come, and thoroughly sanitized after use. Anything usually done self-service — buffets, salsa bars, soda machines, utensil pickup — will have to be delivered to the table. Bars, breweries and wineries that lack an on-site kitchen must remain closed unless they find a food vendor; even then, alcohol can only be served with the purchase of a meal.

The plan doesn’t include an occupancy cap, as many had expected it would, though areas must remain closed. Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged at a press conference Tuesday that limiting restaurants to half their normal chairs wasn’t necessary in all cases.

“We aren’t being prescriptive with how many seats restaurants can have. We’re concerned primarily with physical distancing capacity,” Newsom said. “But we also wanted to provide flexibility. I’m not naive. None of this means anything if customers don’t feel safe.”

Keeping all seated customers six feet apart, though, would essentially force Skip’s Kitchen to cut its occupancy in half, owner Skip Wahl said. Screening customers at the door would be Skip’s other main obstacle, as Wahl doesn’t normally employ a host.

Otherwise, the Carmichael sandwich-and-salad restaurant should be able to follow most of the 99 points relatively easily and inexpensively whenever Sacramento County becomes compliant, Wahl said.

“I’m ready to fully reopen my dining room, but I understand there are people that are smarter than me, that know more than me that put this thing together,” he said. “They’re implementing guidelines and if that brings people back faster and keeps people healthy, then I get it. It would be nice to know when we’re going to be able to reopen, but — and I’m not advocating for one party or another here — the Governor has been consistently saying that’s going to be data-driven.”

Restaurants can only reopen their dining rooms in counties that have moved into Phase 2 of Newsom’s four-phase coronavirus management plan. El Dorado and Butte became the first California counties to be approved by the state Tuesday. Newsom said he expects more counties to be granted approval soon.

That was unclear to some Tuesday, though, as Brick Yard Kitchen & Bar opened its Roseville location in self-stated compliance with Newsom’s order. When a customer replied to Brick Yard’s Facebook asking how it could legally reopen, given that Placer County hadn’t entered into Phase 2, the restaurant directed him to Newsom’s 12-page plan.

A handful of El Dorado County restaurants had reopened for dine-in service without the governor’s approval, though the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has warned those that did so may lose their licenses.

Eateries across the state are reaching a critical point after two months of takeout-only service, California Restaurant Association president and CEO Jot Condie said in a statement Tuesday. He applauded Newsom for opting against a 50 percent occupancy limit, bucking a trend established by governors in Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas and other Southern states.

“While the restaurant experience may look different with physical distancing in place, here is what is unchanged: hospitality,” Condie said. “Restaurants are getting ready to open their doors and enthusiastically welcome their guests.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 1:55 PM.