Restaurants get local support in reopening
Visit Hot Springs is working to keep restaurants and their customers in step with the state’s guidelines on resuming dine-in operations, while a local marketing agency is providing eateries with a way to keep customers up to speed on openings.
An email Visit Hot Springs sent Tuesday served as a reminder for restaurants resuming dinein operations to abide by the following guidelines:
• Physical distancing of 10 feet between patrons and tables.
• Encouraging reservations.
“Try calling ahead to make reservations, this will allow the restaurants to prepare for your arrival and guarantee a more enjoyable dining experience for you, your family and the restaurant staff.”
• Wear face coverings. “While you’re not expected to try enjoying your guac and queso order through your mask, face coverings are required while you enter the restaurant and wait to receive your food.”
• Wash hands frequently. “Keep up the cleanliness with frequent and thorough hand washing. The restaurant employees
are doing it and you should too to help flatten the curve.”
• Pre-order when possible. “Plan ahead! This will ensure a shorter wait time for your meal. Restaurants will only be allowed to serve 33% occupancy during the first phase of reopening, so preordering helps their staff prepare a more efficient dining experience for you and yours.”
“We’re excited to work our way back to how things used to be, with new restrictions in place. Let’s be sure to follow these guidelines for dining in so we can continue to make strides towards dining normally in the near future,” the email said.
Arkansas Department of Health Public Information Officer Danyelle McNeill said in an email the department will be conducting check-ins with businesses reopening “as much as possible,” but the compliance/enforcement is “complaint driven” and should be noted by the public, as well.
McNeill said if a business that reopened is not abiding by the directive, there could potentially be a penalty that includes being asked to close until they are in compliance, or having an enforcement action brought before the Board of Health or one of the boards under the Board of Health.
“Other state agencies have been checking and educating various businesses for directive compliance,” she said. “Other state agencies and local law enforcement have also assisted with enforcement of all of the Governor’s executive orders and the Secretary of Health’s directives and orders.”
In an effort to promote businesses reopening and their reopening plans to their customers, SixtyOne Celsius, a local marketing agency, created hotspringstracker.com.
“As the COVID-19 began to impact the state of Arkansas in March of 2020 … most businesses relied on social media, word-of-mouth, and some advertising to communicate their operations,” SixtyOne Celsius President Stephanie Alderdice said in an email.
“On March 20th,” Alderdice continued, “SixtyOne Celsius launched HotSpringsTracker. com as a centralized location for restaurants in the Garland County area to announce updates to their operations and provide customers with information as to which local eateries were open and how to. The site was (and still is) free for businesses to list and free for visitors to use.”
She said within the first month of the website’s launch, it had over 2,500 visitors and listed 80 area restaurants.
Additionally, as the governor announced further reopenings, the tracker offered its services to all local businesses, rather than just restaurants, Alderdice said.
“All information on the site is user-generated,” she said. “All messaging regarding the site has emphasized the importance of safety, hand-washing, and wearing masks. Our hope is that the site will support local business owners, inform individuals of changes in policy, and promote safe and healthy re-exposure to public settings.”