Last week, Arizona councilman Mark Stewart hosted a web conference in light of Arizona’s retail and restaurant reopening. Among his guests were the Arizona Restaurant Association President, Steve Chucri, Mike Merendino, a Chandler-area restaurant owner, and National Restaurant Consultants’ own vice-president, Jared Flowers.
Last Monday, Arizona reopened its restaurant and small businesses to the public, with restrictions, and according to the Arizona Restaurant Association, they were met with success.
“It was a robust start,” said Chucri. He noted that restaurants especially are honoring social distancing, as well as other sanitary measures, like removing condiments from the tables. (These and other suggestions are included in National Restaurant Consultants reopening guide, available here.)
Flowers was able to offer some national insight, as 28 States have reopened restaurants in varying capacities. This past week, Flowers opened a restaurant in Cape Cod, and commented on the support from local government.
“Any time you have support from local government, you’re able to move the needle a little faster,” he said, explaining that the city closed down the main street through town to reduce traffic and provide space for restaurants to set up tables outdoors.
Merendino saw a lot of opportunity for other communities to do the same, pointing out that though there are broad opinions on post-COVID regulations, for the most part, “People are more confident outside.”
All in all, the restaurant and hospitality industries are eager to get people back to work, but within the recommendations that keep people healthy and allow them to feel safe.
“We want our guests to be comfortable,” Flowers said, “But we want to keep our staff safe. We want them to come to work and feel safe and supported.”
For more information about reopening guidelines and restrictions, please review our re-opening guide or contact our office at 303-757-3663 today.
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash