By Allison Perrine
For three months, New Jersey residents were not able to sit down at their favorite local restaurants and enjoy meals with friends and family due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Restaurants got the green light for outside dining this week and hungry-for-eating-out diners flocked to eateries throughout the Two River area. Diners at Temple Gourmet Chinese restaurant in Red Bank savored the day on Wednesday.
That changed Monday, June 15, as the governor permitted the reopening of outdoor dining across the state. Overall, customers seem happy to get back out and enjoy some sense of normalcy, several restaurateurs told The Two River Times. But the diners have been greeted with some changes to keep everything as sanitary and safe as possible.
“It feels like junior high when we were returning back to school and seeing old friends again. We have missed seeing everyone so much,” said chef David Burke, owner of Drifthouse and Nauti Bar by David Burke. “Please be assured we are going above and beyond safety guidelines so both our guests and employees are safe. We understand while some folks can’t wait to get out, others will prefer takeout, which we will also continue.”
Per the governor’s orders, tables must be limited to eight customers or fewer with seating arranged to keep at least 6 feet between par ties. Signage must be posted at entrances stating that anyone with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19 should not enter the establishment. All tables, chairs and shared items like pens or menus must be disinfected after each use. And employees must undergo daily health checks, such as temperature screenings, among several other guidelines.
Beach Tavern in Monmouth Beach served its seafood specialties and more this week when outside dining was given the go-ahead.
“Restaurants and bars throughout New Jersey have been immensely cooperative with necessary public health measures that were placed upon them while battling the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gov. Phil Murphy June 3 in a press release. “Allowing outdoor dining and the expansion of alcohol-serving areas will allow restaurants and bars to begin welcoming customers back while continuing to comply with necessary social distancing guidance.”
The call for outdoor dining had been made by many for several weeks. Business owners and employees throughout the state have suffered financial burdens resulting from limited service and shutdowns. Burke was one of many advocates for reopening the restaurant scene, pointing out during a press conference in Sea Bright May 29 that the restaurant business has always been held to a high standard of cleanliness and proper sanitization.
“Restaurant workers, in general, are trained to work very clean. The board of health is on us like no other business,” he said May 29. “There is a sanitary effort all the time, year-round when we feed people. We’re responsible people.”
This week, Burke told The Two River Times that people were happy to be out. Surfaces in his restaurants are constantly being sanitized and his employees all wear face coverings, as required by the governor’s orders. One person is permitted in the restroom at a time. Silverware is wrapped up so that it is not loose or exposed. And while the transition to open for outdoor dining only was easier at restaurants like Drifthouse, other establishments he owns required more work, like his South Orange-based restaurant Orange Lawn. There, he had an outdoor garden terrace constructed for a new dining experience.
Diners at Buona Sera enjoyed outside dining on Maple Avenue in Red Bank Wednesday at lunchtime.
“It’s just a gorgeous setting,” he said. “We’re lucky in that respect, that all of our restaurants have outdoor seating. For those who don’t have outdoor seating, it’s terrible…their customers are going somewhere else,” said Burke.
Steve Bidgood, co-owner of Salt Creek Grille in Rumson, said it’s been a learning process to get everything set up and prepared, but things are going well. Staff members set up 23 tables outside of the establishment each day and bring it all back in by the end of the night so the wooden tables and other supplies do not get ruined. They have set up string lights outside and have posted proper signage mandated in the governor’s executive orders.
“We learned a lot last night and it was pretty steady,” said Bidgood, the day after reopening. Things will be adjusted as they continue to operate in a new normal, for now, he said.
Chef George Lyristis, owner of The Bistro at Red Bank, Teak and Greek Eats, said he and his staff are being as conscientious as possible. He is currently limiting each table to hour-and-a-half windows due to limited outdoor space. At Bistro and Teak, barcodes are placed on every table so customers can scan the codes to view menus on their phones; there is no need for physical menus. However, he does have disposable menus available in case they are needed, he said.
“It’s been a day, but it was better than Sunday,” Lyristis said Tuesday morning. “People were very happy to be out, they’re very conscious about doing the right thing. It has a lot to do with education. Us in the restaurant business are all over it but the customers themselves, this is all brand new and they’re only seeing what they see on TV,” he added. “They have to be educated as to what they’re allowed to do, what they’re not allowed to do.”
Turning Point in Little Silver welcomed diners when pandemic restrictions allowed for out- side dining.
Lyristis’ restaurants are also not serving coffee or dessert at the moment to help other businesses in the local area, he said.
“There are a bunch of coffee shops and stuff like that that could really use the business as well.”
Red Bank resident Alexandra Hough was one of the customers who dined at Bistro Monday night when it reopened. And she had “no real apprehensions” about doing so, she said.
“I was just excited to get out of the house and have a nice dinner that I didn’t have to cook for once,” said Hough.
Asbury Park
After hearing complaints from restaurant owners in Asbury Park throughout the shutdown, city council members decided to approve a resolution allowing indoor dining against the governor’s orders but with the same capacity limits as the executive order permitting other indoor gatherings. Under this resolution, restaurants could have up to 25 percent capacity or 50 people whichever number was lower inside the restaurant for dining services.
But June 12 the governor filed a lawsuit against the city preventing Asbury Park restaurants from serving food and beverages indoors. The city’s restaurants may provide outdoor dining.
“We hope our position will encourage the State of New Jersey to outline guidelines for indoor dining in the upcoming weeks,” the city posted on its website, cityofasburypark.com. “We invite Governor Murphy to our City next week to meet with the local restaurant community and discuss alternate opportunities to support these businesses who rely heavily on the summer.
The article originally appeared in the June 18-24, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
