REVAMPING DINING SPACES
Instead of ornament-filled entrances, foodies will experience almost bare resto portals with automated sanitation tools and aerosol sprayers. Picturesque exteriors will now be replaced with temperature-checking booths
Converting trendy designs to minimalist yet functional interiors will be the new normal for dining spaces to reopen this month.
The Department of Tourism (DoT) released “New Normal Health and Safety Guidelines for DoT-Accredited Restaurants” or Memorandum Circular No 2020-004 to revamp the over-all management and set-up of restaurants apt for COVID-19 related risks.
Major design shifts
Instead of ornament-filled entrances, foodies will experience almost bare resto portals with automated sanitation tools and aerosol sprayers. Picturesque exteriors will now be replaced with temperature-checking booths.
Zen-type layout is also the way to go for restaurant owners because this time, what will matter more is the cleanliness of furniture surfaces, not really the colors of the walls or the theme of the place.
Space-saving designs that could fit multiple people in one table should already be abandoned as only 50 percent seating capacity will be allowed under the new protocol. Proper designation for every customer’s space shall also be done to avoid contact.
Less to no decorations will also be expected as space dimensions will be utilized for customer accommodations.
Ambiance changes
Pre-pandemic dining experience has been reliant to the overall theme up to the music.
But now, it will transform to distant customers and the music will now be an alarm system to remind proper handwashing every 20 minutes.
Instead of posing with the unique features of every resto, customers should now avoid even a tiny contact with any surface. And instead of doing mirror shots in aesthetic walls of comfort rooms, the main concern now passed to the accessibility of hand soaps and disinfectants.
No more Instagram photos wearing bomb outfits, because aside from the required wearing of masks, every customer must be compliant with the queueing standards.
DoT Secretary Bernadette Romulo — Puyat asserted, “The DoT remains committed to its “slow but sure” approach in reopening the tourism industry amidst our current public health concern. To make this happen, we expect strict compliance from our partners of the protocols. The only way we can jumpstart tourism is to regain the confidence of our visitors.”