RivCo Restaurants See Mixed Results As Dining Reopens

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County began allowing in-person dining at restaurants this weekend following more than two months of stay-at-home orders that severely curtailed their operations, but the sudden change brought mixed results for the industry in the region.

On Friday, the county was given approval by the California Department of Public Health, with the governor's blessing, for an "accelerated" move into reopening economic sectors impacted by the coronavirus emergency.

The further easing of the public health orders came just ahead of Memorial Day weekend, traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year for restaurants.

But as customers return to their favorite dining spots, they should expect a slew of changes in service and how they interact with staff. County officials have developed their own recommendations to complement the state's reopening guidelines, which include suspending use of shared food items such as salt shakers, asking customers to wait in their cars for a table and installing partitions at cash registers and bars.

The complex set of reopening recommendations didn't stop The Tropicale Restaurant and Lounge in Palm Springs from slinging their fare to hungry tables. The eatery had a limited reopening on Friday, the day the restrictions were lifted.

Owner Tony Di Lembo said the restaurant has been bustling with dine-in patrons after the two month hiatus.

"We did about 250 people last night," he told City News Service on Sunday. "The takeout seemed to subside last night and people are starting to eat here, so it was quite busy. And tonight we'll do hundreds as well."

The Tropicale is fortunate enough to have an open-air seating area, which helps with physical distancing.

"Everything that was required, we implemented and it seems to be going fine," he said. "We're not allowed to pre-set tables now, little things like that take more time during service. It's difficult for waiters wearing masks, running around the whole time, its uncomfortable. Things like that but in general its not too bad."

Uncomfortable changes aside, Di Lembo said some of his staff reacted to the reopening news with tears in their eyes.

"And the public, they come in and cry," he said. "There's still a lot that are afraid to come, but that will change in time."

The news wasn't as good over at Pepitos Mexican Restaurant in Riverside, where manager Miguel Razo said the reopening on Saturday was underwhelming.

"It's not good." he told CNS. "If it continues like this, I don't think we can stay open."

He said the restaurant is operating at half capacity and is abiding by safety protocols, such as keeping tables no less than 6 feet apart and requiring face coverings.

However, he said, restaurant staff is being heavily impacted because they're not pulling in the same levels of tips as before the closures.

A few miles away, Anchos Southwest Grill & Bar remains closed as staff are rushing to make final preparations to reopen next week.

"This thing all went down Friday afternoon, but we're not stocked up staff-wise, food-wise. We want to make sure when we're open, we're able to control whatever business we get so we can take care of the safety of the employees and guests," owner Dean Bergstrom told CNS.

He said the reduced capacity combined with the additional staff necessary to enforce safety measures is going to make maintaining profitability difficult.

"It's going to be a real challenge, things are going to be very, very different," Bergstrom said. "But it will be more advantageous to what we're doing right now, which is just takeout."

According to Riverside University Health System researcher Dr. Geoffrey Leung, the countywide hospitalization rate for COVID-19 cases has been flat for the past few weeks, remaining below 200, while the "positivity rate" from coronavirus screenings generally has been 2% to 4%, figures that did not raise red flags.

As of Friday, Riverside County has 6,464 documented COVID-19 infections and 290 deaths. There have been 4,180 documented patient recoveries.

—City News Service

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know