Gov. Baker further eases restrictions on businesses to delight of southern Mass. restaurants, venues
Thursday was a good day weather-wise and otherwise for businesses – including restaurants, which have suffered for nearly a year with strict limits on how many patrons they can seat and serve due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced an easing of restrictions on a variety of businesses, including restaurants, performance venues, stadiums and ballparks.
Baker said plummeting case numbers and hospitalizations prompted the move, which will allow businesses to ramp back up and maybe turn red ink into black.
It’s especially good news for restaurants, which have been crushed by coronavirus.
“Since the beginning of this year, key public health data, such as new cases and hospitalizations, have been closely monitored and a significant decline has been documented, allowing for a return to Step 2 of Phase III, effective March 1 for all cities and towns,” a press release from the governor’s office said.
“We’re easing the strain and pain,” is the translation.
Beginning Monday, indoor performance venues such as concert halls and theaters will be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity with no more than 500 persons, while indoor recreational activities like laser tag, roller skating and trampolines can also reopen at 50% capacity.
Also Monday, all sectors with capacity limits will be raised to 50%.
Restaurants will no longer have a percent capacity limit and will be permitted to host musical performances.
Six-foot social distancing, limits of six people per table and 90-minute limits remain in place.
On March 22, the state will open a range of previously closed businesses under tight capacity restrictions.
That includes indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks – including Fenway and TD Garden in Boston and Gillette in Foxboro. At first the facilities will operate at a strict 12% capacity limit after submitting a plan to the Department of Public Health.
Fenway and Gillette are currently serving as mass vaccination sites that have been key to the state’s inoculation efforts. Asked if they would continue to serve as vaccination sites, Baker said his administration is talking with the venues.
At Gillette, New England Patriots Vice President of Media Relations Stacy James said that while 12 percent capacity may not be a full house, it’s a step in the right direction.
James is hopeful that percentage will go up by football season, when sellout crowds of 65,878 fans faithfully turn out to watch their beloved Patriots.
“That would be a great sign for the recovery from the pandemic and something I think we would all be rooting for,” he said in an email to The Sun Chronicle.
John Morin of Morin’s Hometown Bar & Grille doesn’t have to fill a 65,878 seat stadium, but he does have plenty of seats he’s hoping to keep warm to get business back up to pre-pandemic levels.
“It’s fantastic news,” he said late Thursday afternoon of the easing of restrictions.
His and other restaurants have been limited to 40 percent capacity for a couple of weeks, which “was a huge step” and a big improvement over the 25 percent limit they had been struggling with for months.
“The 25 percent was tough,” he said, noting there’s now a sense of optimism in the air. “It’s all starting to come together.”
But lifting the limits on capacity is only half the problem.
The other half is getting people to come out again, but Morin said the vaccinations are helping with that.
There won’t be free reign until all restrictions are off.
“We’ve still got a couple of loops to go through. The six-person limit per table and the 90-minute time limit are still there,” he said.
Dave Wilke, manager of Wendell’s Pub in Norton, echoed Morin.
“We’re thrilled,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
He said the pub has hit the 40 percent cap a lot, especially on weekends, which is frustrating.
“This will be a relief not to have to have to turn people away,” he said.
Meanwhile, over in Mansfield, Yvonne Defazio, who runs a fine dining restaurant called Trattoria Della Nonna with her husband Kenny, said the easing of restrictions won’t help her much, because the 6-foot social distancing and the 90-minute limits are still in place.
Her restaurant is not big enough to bring in more patrons and keep them spread out as required.
And the 90-minute limit is tough on her customers who enjoy a more leisurely dining experience.
“The people who eat in my restaurant know that’s not enough time,” she said.
A recent story in The Sun Chronicle that reported on the struggles she and her husband have experienced brought in more business, for which she’s grateful.
“It was overwhelming to know how much people want us to be here,” Defazio said.
While she won’t be able to go to 100 percent capacity, she will probably be able to hit 67 percent in her dining room and a little over 50 in the bar area, she said.
And she’s doing a lot of takeout business she never had before.
Defazio said people still seem a little cautious about going into restaurants, which puts a damper on business.
“I think the fear is still there,” she said of the virulent virus.
She said she controls customer flow by taking reservations, but that has a downside.
She has to turn walk-ins away.
“That’s heartbreaking because I never had to do that before,” Defazio said.
Meanwhile winter’s on the wane and patio dining is on the horizon and that’s something to which she’s looking forward.
“I love the patio,” Defazio said.