Chicago restaurants will be allowed to start indoor dining with the rest of the state on Friday. That’s few days earlier than what Mayor Lori Lightfoot anticipated. The mayor previously said the city would have to wait and wouldn’t enter the next stage of its recovery plan until July. The city will only permit dining rooms to operate reduced capacities.
Outdoor dining resumed on June 3 in Chicago, allowing on-premise customers for the first time since March 17. With Chicago turbulent weather. Lightfoot and the Illinois Restaurant Association pushed for the return of indoor dining so businesses could make more money. Many restaurant owners say outdoor dining, with its diminished capacity, doesn’t generate enough business to bring in a profit. Carryout and delivery were allowed during the government’s stay-at-home orders. Indoor dining rooms will be capped at 50 people or 25 percent capacity — whichever is fewer. In an increase from the six for outdoor dining, a maximum of 10 indoor diners are allowed per table.
Health experts remain lukewarm on indoor dining, worried that reckless customers who don’t observe social distancing could further spread the novel coronavirus. The city has released safety guidelines as owners and staff race to prepare their spaces for indoor service. Diners will also be allowed to sit at a counter or bar, as long as six feet of social distancing is maintained between customers, and restaurants are asked to “consider use of Plexiglas between customers and bartenders.”
One highlight is cafeterias and buffets can start operating again, but they can’t be self serve. An employee wearing a face covering must serve the food. Private events at banquet halls can be held as long as the venue follows the same capacity restrictions as restaurants. That’s big news for caterers who saw money dry up as the virus ravaged the nation and cancelled weddings, graduation parties, and other events.
Many of the rules the city’s outdoor dining guidelines will remain. Tables must be six feet apart, and customers need to wear facial coverings when they’re not eating or drinking and stay in their seats. A maximum of 10 people will be allowed in a waiting room at one time, and restaurants must designate socially-distanced spots where would-be diners can wait for a table or the restroom. There also shouldn’t be any booming speakers for a while — the guidelines require restaurants to keep the music at low volumes so servers and customers don’t have to lean in close to hear one another.
Establishments are still responsible for instituting a staff health screening protocol, daily cleaning standards and sanitization requirements, and instructional signage so customers and staff know what is or isn’t allowed. Some restaurants plan to use reservation app tools to ask customers about symptoms and travel history, or even mandate a health declaration form.
Read some of the new guidelines’s highlights, available below. The full list is available on the city’s website:
- Dining room capacity is limited to 25 percent, or 50 people, whichever is fewer.
- No more than 10 people are allowed per table.
- Patrons need to remain seated as much as possible.
- Customers can sit at counters and bars as long as they are six feet away from other diners.
- Contactless payment is encouraged to minimize interaction between staff and customers.
- Diners can remove face coverings while seated and eating or drinking.
- Hand sanitizer or hand washing facilities must be available to both staff and customers.
- Buffets and cafeterias can reopen as long as food is served by an employee wearing PPE.
- Post a pledge (like this one from the Illinois Restaurant Association) or conduct some kind of customer health screening to verify the absence of coronavirus symptoms.
- Clean and sanitize the entire restaurant before opening and throughout the workday (every 30 minutes in front-of-house areas).