x
Breaking News
More () »

You can dine indoors in Jacksonville Monday! But will restaurants be open?

On Monday Jacksonville restaurants can open their indoor dining areas at 25 percent capacity. But how many will actually open?

Will you be dining out on Monday?

That's when Jacksonville restaurants are allowed to open their indoor dining areas at 25 percent capacity. But how many will actually open?

Many local restaurant owners say they don't want to rush back into the lunch rush when it involves your safety.

"We just felt like it was a little rushed, frankly," said Caleb Harrell, CEO of Hawkers Asian Street Fare. "We could probably pull it off but we'd rather make sure that we do it right."

This is the answer First Coast News got from a number of small businesses in the Five Points area when we asked if they'd have their dining rooms open Monday.

Harrell says working out the logistics is a lot of work and there are a lot of questions left to answer for the business.

"Do we want everyone coming in and out of the same door?" he mused. "There's stickers that would go on the ground ensuring the six feet apart."

Getting people back to work is another issue.

"Everyday life has been disrupted, not just their jobs," Harrell said. "So we want to give people ample time to make those arrangements."

RELATED: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Phase 1 of reopening state to begin Monday, May 4

One restaurant where the dining room is planned to be open is Burrito Gallery. The vice president of operations there says he made a detailed plan talking with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

He says implementing the social distancing rules could be a challenge because they're not sure how many customers to expect. The governor's order says only parties of 10 people or fewer can be seated in restaurants and tables must be six feet apart.

Georgia restaurants have had their dining rooms open all week. We caught back up with the owner of Mallery Street Cafe, who we talked with Monday, to see how the first week has gone.

"We're running about 25 percent of sales, I would say normally, but it's been steady," said Lance Williams. "People seem cautious but happy to be outside and happy to be inside."

He says as more places reopen, there could be a wait because only so many people can be inside at once.

"What advice to you have for people in Florida who want to reopen their restaurants?" First Coast News asked Williams.

RELATED: Restaurants ready to open Monday following Florida governor's order

"I would say support local people as much as possible," he said. "I have a guy at McCLean Linen who makes masks, I got a Sublime mask."

He says survival is all about local people helping local people and the same is true in Jacksonville.

"Honestly the level of take-out, delivery business that we've had, I don't know that we would have been able to keep our doors open," said Harrell. "Our guests, our fan base, the folks that have supported us are what have allowed us to talk to you today about potentially reopening."

Harrell says Hawkers will most likely reopen in the next few weeks. You can always call ahead to see if the dining room is open before you head out to eat.

Before You Leave, Check This Out