It’s official: Restaurants and stores in Sacramento County can reopen

It’s official. As of noon Friday, Sacramento County restaurants and stores can reopen their doors.

Sacramento County health officials published an update of their coronavirus safety order today, formally giving the green light to restaurants to reopen for indoor and outdoor dining, with an emphasis on social distancing, wearing masks, and, for now, dining only with members of one’s household.

A Sacramento Bee review this week lists more than 90 restaurants that intend to open right away. Some, though, say they will wait to see how things go in the first days and weeks before taking that step. Restaurant dining rooms have been closed for more than two months.

Stores can now allow shoppers inside, and shopping malls can reopen. Arden Fair mall representatives said they do not, however, plan to reopen the mall until after Memorial Day weekend. Fitness centers and small gatherings are not permitted during this new stage.

Wayside Noodles manager My Huynh had removed five tables from the Natomas Marketplace restaurant’s dining room Friday morning and set all menus outside, where customers would later order to minimize their time inside. Huynh and owner Tuan Le kept the fast-casual Vietnamese soup shop open for takeout every day besides Mother’s Day after furloughing their employees.

Wayside Noodles’ revenue dropped 70 percent during the shelter-in-place order, Huynh said, and the remaining 30 percent were mostly other shopper center employees with a few regulars mixed in. She hoped to bring a couple staff members back in a week or so, but said she was only expecting one or two sit-down customers per hour Friday.

“There’s still a lot of doubt and fear in people’s eyes. Even when they come in for to-go, they’re still really nervous,” Huynh said. “It’s just all emotions. It’s high intenseness, tenseness and anxiety.”

Brickhouse Restaurant & Lounge in Elk Grove is eager to reopen for indoor, sit-down dining even as the longtime Old Town eatery has been busy since the beginning of the lockdown, preparing meals for the city’s seniors and offering curbside carryout. Business at Brickhouse will resume Tuesday.

“We’re more than prepared. We’re trying to follow all of the guidelines,” Linda Davenport, the restaurant’s general manager said early Friday afternoon.

Salt and pepper shakers? Gone, replaced with individual packets on request. Temperature checks for patrons as they enter the restaurant and fewer tables are part of the planned changes, along with fewer tables in the front of the house.

“It’s our new normal, right?” Davenport said. “But we can’t wait to have customers sitting down at our restaurant enjoying themselves.”

Diners ready to visit restaurants

Other restaurateurs say their patrons appear more relaxed about indoor dining. Joe Genshlea, co-owner of Revolution Winery & Kitchen in midtown, said he’s noticed more customers coming in to pick-up takeout food lately without wearing masks. He said that signals to him that many people, notably younger consumers, are becoming more comfortable being in and around a restaurant.

Still, he said, his industry is unsure about how many customers are likely to rush back to in-restaurant dining, and how many may wait longer. His own restaurant has an outdoor dining area.

“I think we will have some success when we reopen. We will try as much as possible to serve on our patio first. Inside, there will be significant distance between tables.”

Restaurants in certain parts of Sacramento and Elk Grove have city approval to move tables onto sidewalks and into parking lots, allowing them to seat more customers while keeping parties six feet apart. Barriers were erected Friday to protect Aioli Bodega Espanola’s sidewalk tables from L Street traffic, with similar blockades to come by Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar, The Golden Bear and Zocalo in midtown.

Some businesses will open incrementally. At the Palladio in Folsom, restaurants and retailers say they will transition to full service.

“Over the coming days, Palladio will have a rolling opening with restaurants transitioning from take-out to dine-in, and for the first time many retailers will provide full in-store service,” Gloria Wright, Palladio general manager, said in a press statement. “The Palladio will promote the latest social distancing guidelines to assure customers that they can safely enjoy our tradition of premiere wining and dining, and full-service shopping.”

Sacramento joins 43 of the state’s 58 counties in moving deeper into what Gov. Gavin Newsom calls Phase 2 of the state’s fight against the coronavirus. Phase 2 involves reopening businesses that are considered lower risk for virus transmission.

Sacramento County officials continued to tell people who are not in the same household to stay six feet apart, and issued their strongest appeal so far on Friday for people to wear masks when they are mixing and mingling with others, such as in restaurants, stores, supermarkets, and in ridesharing and on public transportation.s

The amended order lists these businesses and activities as allowable:

Full public transportation

Resume dine-in at restaurants

Pet grooming

Car washes

Small retail

Shopping malls

Agricultural food and beverage cultivation, process and distribution open for retail by appointment only

Plumbers, electricians, exterminators

Arborists, landscapers, gardeners

Small offices when telework is not possible

Child Care, Day Care and Family daycare

Drive-through religious services

Outdoor museums and art galleries

Drive-through graduation ceremonies

This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 11:43 AM.