Restaurants in El Dorado Hills can reopen. They’re scrambling to prepare safety measures

On the first day after El Dorado County restaurants received state approval to reopen for dine-in meals, the county’s main shopping center was conspicuously quiet.

Groups of walkers strolled through El Dorado Hills Town Center in groups of two or three, seeking breakfast or lunch destinations where they could finally sit after nearly two months of takeout-only meals due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were greeted by a dining scene still scrambling to abide by a 12-page plan released by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office Tuesday, with the pioneers getting ready to open for dine-in service at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Even Aji Japanese Bistro, which reopened for dine-in service on Mother’s Day before receiving state approval to do so, had reverted back to takeout-only for Wednesday’s lunch to get ready for a wave of pent-up customers.

Aji brought in just 10 percent of its usual revenue during the takeout-only period, owner Russell Okubo said. Yet after shutting down Monday and Tuesday, Aji’s 65-person dining room and 30-person patio was booked solid for Wednesday night by 2 p.m., two hours before opening.

Okubo erected wooden barriers separating booths, moved tables more than six feet apart and set up several stations with hand sanitizer throughout the restaurant. He hoped Aji’s opening would set an example for other El Dorado Hills Town Center restaurants like Thai Paradise, which plans to reopen for dine-in service Friday.

“I just wanted to make it known that we’re here to do it the right way and set the protocol,” Okubo said.

Aji’s main sanitation table also features a print-out of the 12-page reopening plan as well as Centers for Disease Control and county health advisories — regulations and guidelines some Town Center shoppers could do well to brush up on.

Although the state requires all dine-in restaurant customers to wear masks when not eating or drinking, none of the eight people The Bee observed who approached Aji and Chando’s Cantina for sit-down meals wore face coverings. In fact, masks were scarcely seen throughout the Town Center at all Wednesday with the exception of shoppers at Nugget Markets, which requires customers to cover their faces before entering.

Restaurants hiring back employees

Chando’s Cantina opened its dining room at 4 p.m. as well with about half its normal seating. Even with fewer customers at a time, the local Mexican chain will need to bring back more staff working to keep up with the state’s stringent sanitation requirements, general manager Mark Powers said.

About eight of Chando’s 40 employees stayed on through the takeout-only period, Powers said. He’s now hiring back another 15 or so, with hopes to bring everyone on as El Dorado County moves deeper into Newsom’s four-phase plan.

Construction on Chando’s back room, where a new menu will feature steak and fish specials, was still underway as of Wednesday afternoon. That and a noon staff meeting to go over the new state health requirements kept the restaurant from reopening earlier, Powers said.

“I wish we could be open right this second, but we want to get into compliance with everything we do,” Powers said around 11:30 a.m. “I’m excited. Of course, you’re always nervous in this business for one reason or another.”

Newsom approved El Dorado and Butte counties’ applications to begin reopening businesses such as restaurants and shopping malls for more than to-go on Tuesday morning. Placer, Amador, Nevada, Shasta and Lassen counties also received the green light by day’s end, and Yuba, Sutter, Sierra and Tuolomne counties got it Tuesday.

Seeing neighboring counties get approval eased El Dorado Chamber of Commerce CEO Laurel Brent-Bomb’s concerns about unwanted travelers, she said. California residents are only supposed to leave their counties for essential activities under the statewide shelter-in-place order.

“If El Dorado County was the only county that was approved to move into Phase 2, I think there would be a great temptation for folks who are starved for socialization to come up the hill,” Brent-Bomb said. “I kind of feel like we’re the petri dish, and how our businesses act is going to determine how successfully our community is in moving as quick as possible onto Phase 3.”

Aside from visitors, though, Brent-Bomb said she thought El Dorado County was ready to begin reopening weeks ago. The 200,000-person county has had just 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths through Wednesday.

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 3:51 PM.