Alive again after dark
While the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over yet, Wellingtonians have been out to celebrate life in level 2.
Best friends Toni Naylor and Helena Page were out enjoying their first meal and drinks post-lockdown at the Bresolin brothers’ 1154 Pastaria restaurant on Cuba St last night.
Naylor got the spaghetti bolognese, while Page got the carbonara.
‘‘It feels weird even just walking here and seeing lots of people, it’s strange . . . It’s like things are starting to get back to normal,’’ Naylor said.
1154 Pastaria wasn’t taking reservations under level 2 but a staffer said it was trying to operate near capacity, while adhering to social distancing rules.
‘‘We set up the tables now so that we can guide people more and direct them to a table that’s been set up and facing away from other people. We have fewer chairs and are seating fewer people,’’ she said.
Cuba St had ‘‘come alive again’’ under level 2, the staffer said. ‘‘It’s heartwarming’’.
Finn Price, a Wellingtonian who works at Hawkins Construction, was also out last night at J J Murphy & Co on Cuba St with a workmate, to celebrate the end of lockdown and mark his colleague wanting to travel down south.
The pair had bought loaded fries, as the bar has a rule of having to buy a meal if you want drinks.
‘‘A lot of my friends are still at home. It feels great being back,’’ Price said.
But it wasn’t just Cuba St abuzz with action. Capitol Restaurant on Kent Tce in Mt Victoria was one of many restaurants to have a flurry of people wanting to book in during level 2.
Co-owner Kate Hutchison said the restaurant was ‘‘really excited to get back to dining’’.
It had accepted dozens of bookings for last night and tonight.
‘‘We’re super excited. We actually booked up so quickly that we had to phone [some people] back and tell them we can’t have them all at once.’’
Hutchison said Wellingtonians had been ‘‘really good’’ about not being able to eat at particular times because they were already booked.
While level 2 was still ‘‘drastically diminished capacity’’, the restaurant was finding ways to be innovative and draw back customers.
‘‘We’re trying different and exciting things, we have lots of bookings, so we’re feeling lucky. But the model is precarious,’’ Hutchison said.
Another heartening aspect of the return to level 2 had been worried patrons phoning in, suggesting ideas of how the restaurant could best operate to maximise its revenue.
Hutchison said the lockdown made people realise how fond they were of dining out.
‘‘We’ve had this place for almost 18 years. Starting again [after lockdown] felt a bit daunting, but we have been propelled by community support.
‘‘[Thursday night] was good, it was a bit strange.
‘‘It’s feeling quieter than usual, but we’re pleased to be back having done a few weeks of takeaways.
‘‘Having [people] back dining and spending time in this space is what it’s all about.’’