Other plans include tables spread out in the garden so no chairs are less than six feet from each other, and a designated table for each party.
I am trying to make your life easier, and hopefully tastier.” “While you have lunch, you can order dinner to take home,” he said. His menus will be displayed at each table-both a lunch menu (he’s normally only open for lunch) and a take-out dinner menu. We are going green-greener than we have been.” We will use wood and bamboo tableware, everything will be biodegradable and compostable, which fits with the garden. This situation has been making me think-I’ve had time to think. Salmon entree to-go from Cafe Jardin / photo by Chris Trela Olhats noted that putting new processes in place means reinventing his restaurant, but he’s up for the challenge. We will be more proactive without being invasive. Here in the garden, we will do everything we can do make you feel comfortable. “You will feel safe, the staff will feel safe, I will feel safe. “We are lucky being a mostly outdoor restaurant in a garden so we have some control, and we are going to keep it that way,” Olhats told me as we sat in the garden of his restaurant-six feet apart, of course. Lessoning anxiety is a key element in Chef Pascal Olhats’ plan to reopen his Café Jardin restaurant at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar. Chef Pascal Olhats and Chef Jessica Roy of Café Jardin at their pop-up take-out tent next to Sherman Library & Gardens / photo by Chris Trela “When people see all this, they will realize its nicer than they expected, the view is not blocked, and you can still people watch,” stated Clow. “We are going to give people a QR code, you snap a photo with your phone, and you have the menu on your phone,” said Clow.Ĭlow is hopefully the word will come down by the end of May to reopen, and he’ll be ready-but will customers be ready to return? Reduced capacity is a possibility depending on any specific contingencies when the reopening notice is given, but restaurants are hoping for the best-case scenario.įor The Winery, best case is being proactive with not only the clear dividers, but by going as touchless as possible. No matter how you put it, it’s a starting point.” “But if it’s at 50 percent occupancy, I can only seat at every other booth. “Measures like this will have us ahead of the game,” Winery partner JC Clow told me last week when he gave me a tour of the Winery. The Winery patio has new clear dividers / photo by Chris Trela They were created by Super Color Digital, are optically transparent and look like they belong in the restaurant so as not to distract from the guest experience. The panels are made of medical grade Lexan, with Teflon on the bottom so they slide easily. The hostess stand also sports a new clear panel. Even the tables on the upstairs patio that overlooks Newport harbor has clear panels between tables. “Impermeable physical barriers.” That’s exactly with The Winery Restaurant on Coast Highway did last week-they installed moveable clear panels at their upper and lower bars and lounge areas, and installed permanent clear panels at every booth.
Newport beach restaurants install#
If tables, chairs, booths, etc., cannot be moved, use visual cues to show that they are not available for use or install Plexiglas or other types of impermeable physical barriers to minimize exposure between customers.” Winery partner JC Clow with the new Lexan moveable dividers / photo by Chris Trela
These re-openings have not yet been permitted in Orange County, but at least the guidelines have been determined, and not surprisingly, they are extensive.Īmong the guidelines: “Remove tables and chairs from dining areas so that six feet of physical distance can be maintained for customers and employees. Last week, California issued official guidance for the eventual reopening of dine-in restaurants, brewpubs, craft distilleries, breweries, bars, pubs, and wineries. One thing most of us are anxiously awaiting is the reopening of restaurants, which for the past eight weeks have been forced to get by with offering take-out menus. Most beaches have reopened (in one form or another), retail stores can now offer curbside delivery, and recreational businesses including many water-sports rentals (electric boats, kayaks, SUPs) are back in business. Finally, some stay-at-home orders are slowly being lifted or modified.
We’re two months into the stay-at-home orders mandated by the state of California due to the coronavirus, and people are getting antsy.