Fresno restaurants resume some indoor dining, but hardship not over. Here’s why
Limited indoor dining began returning to restaurants across Fresno this week as COVID-19 numbers improved enough to push the county into a less restrictive tier of state regulations.
Now that it’s in the red tier, restaurants can serve people inside at 25% capacity or 100 people — whichever is fewer.
It’s a change welcomed by diners eager for the traditional dining experience and restaurant owners struggling to survive on only takeout and patio dining for months.
But the challenges aren’t over yet.
For many restaurants, the changes mean adding just a few tables inside – not enough to get the businesses back to a healthy state.
Also, coronavirus is still spreading, cautions Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer.
Eating outside is still safer than eating inside, he noted. He also recommends that people only dine indoors with members of their own households to avoid spreading the infection, though it’s OK to dine outdoors with people outside their households, he told The Bee late Tuesday.
Dining inside
The return to eating inside was happy news, especially following weeks of heat and smoke that made dining outdoors difficult.
At Yosemite Falls Cafe at Blackstone and Shaw avenues Wednesday mid morning, the large patio was empty, with every customer opting to eat breakfast indoors.
“People are just really excited,” said manager Serena Perales. “I think everybody is ready and everybody feels pretty confident.”
The restaurant’s booths had Plexiglas barriers between them and people were seated at tables that were mostly 10 feet apart.
Customers had to have their temperature taken in the front of the restaurant, and a hand washing and sanitizing station was nearby. Customers were required to wear masks when not at their tables, menus were wiped down after each use and condiments like ketchup came in plastic bags that are thrown away and the condiment bottles sanitized after each use.
A trio of retired Vietnam veterans who have been meeting for breakfast for 15 years were happy to be sitting inside for the first time in a while.
“I feel real safe,” said John Raya of Fresno, who donned a mask when he was done eating. “I follow the rules that they’re asking. I’m sure this COVID would go away once people would follow the guidelines that they’re supposed to.”
Restaurants still struggling
Cracked Pepper Bistro at Herndon and Palm avenues began seating people in its dining room Tuesday evening following state guidelines, and is seating customers at every other table.
Owner Vatche Moukhtarian said he’s grateful to use the dining room again, but said he expects business to still be hovering around the break-even point.
“Twenty-five percent is kinda tough. It doesn’t really even cover our PG&E bill to be honest,” he said. “Imagine if you have a small Mexican restaurant with 10 tables. That’s 2 1/2 tables.”
Like most restaurants in town, the business will continue seating people on its patio and doing to-go orders.
George’s Bar & Grill at Blackstone and Herndon avenues is also seating people indoors for lunch and dinner.
After weeks of poor air quality and heat, and revenue dropping 60% to 70%, they’re happy to have people inside, said general manager Akram Elbanna.
The 25% capacity limit means the restaurant can seat about 30 people indoors.
“Thirty people inside is going to help. It’s not much really, to be honest with you, but it’s better than nothing,” he said. “It is survival time. It is not money making time.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 2:24 PM.
