Businesses welcome patrons as reopening starts
Within 30 seconds of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s announcement last week that bars and restaurants could soon reopen with limited outdoor seating, the Barrel Club had its first reservation.
The Oak Lawn restaurant, which serves American comfort food and carries 365 different whiskeys, has been lining up guests ever since as it prepared to reopen its outdoor patio for dinner Friday, manager Chris Schnepp said.
“We have been ecstatically overwhelmed to see and hear from some of our guests whoh ave been supportive of us this entire time,” said Schnepp, whose restaurant has survived for the past 2 1⁄2 months on completely voluntary staff labor and donations from guests.
Restaurants that already have outdoor seating, like the Barrel Club and Deja Brew, another Oak Lawn eatery, are at an advantage, but the village is attempting to aid any establishment that wishes to incorporate alfresco dining during the pandemic.
Many Southland retail stores that have been shut down since mid-March also are reopening over theweekend.
Orland Square mall reopened Friday at 11 a.m. with an extensive list of safety measures that are mandatory for employees and suggested for tenants and shoppers at its 150-plus retail stores, though several interior stores did not open their doors Friday.
Chicago Ridge Mall is scheduled to re open Monday at 11 a.m., according to an automated phone message on the shopping center’s main line that asks shoppers to “please remember to maintain social distancing” and says each retailer will have capacity limits in place when they reopen.
Both malls will maintain hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Safety measures
At Barrel Club in Oak Lawn, Schnepp said patrons must now make reservations to allow staff to stagger their seating and will be required to wait in their cars, rather than linger outside, while waiting to be called.
Once called, customers must wear masks until they’ve been seated, Schnepp said.
To meet distancing guidelines and ensure 6 feet of spacing between tables, the Barrel Club cut its outdoor seating capacity by more than half. Rather than 40-plus tables that can accommodate up to 140 guests, the new arrangement will have 18 tables for a maximum of 66 people, he said.
As a result, Barrel Club reduced its kitchen hours and the size of its menu. The restaurant will be open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends, Schnepp said.
Menus and linens will be disposable, single-use condiment packets have replaced reusable bottles and payment will be contactless. Once a table is used and cleared, staff will thoroughly sanitize and wipe it down before a new guest is seated.
“We’re trying to make everything as touch-less and as sanitary as we possibly can,” while still providing an experience that approximates normal restaurant dining, Schnepp said.
Orland Square will limit occupancy to a maximum density of 50 square feet per person and ask customers to wait in their cars or in safely spaced queue lines outside if the capacity is reached, according to safety protocols posted on its website.
It also has placed dividers in entryways so that shoppers entering and exiting may walk only on one side and has added social distancing markers in food courts and outside bathrooms where lines tend to form.
Public seating and eating areas have been reconfigured to permit adequate distancing, every other bathroom sink and urinal has been taped off to encourage spacing and the use of child play areas, drinking fountains, valet and strollers has been temporarily discontinued.
High-touch areas like counters, point-of-service terminals and screens will be sanitized regularly throughout the day and extensively each evening after the close of business.
Shoppers will have access to soap and water in restrooms and hand sanitizer in all common areas and retail spaces, according to the mall’s safety plan.
They will not be required to wear masks, but are encouraged to do so. Customers are also encouraged not to enter the mall if they’re feverish or feeling sick, and once inside are asked to maintain 6 feet of separation from others and use the sanitizer stations.
Staff precautions
All Barrel Club staff will be required to wear masks and gloves, and will have their temperatures checked at the beginning of their shifts and before they leave. If their temperature shifts or exceeds a certain threshold, the employees won’t be able to enter the restaurant or return to work until they produce a doctor’s note affirming that their temperature has been normal for three consecutive days.
Barrel Club also has installed hand sanitation stations and dual staff service stations that will allow waiters to avoid entering and exiting the interior of the restaurant during their shifts and ensure that no more 10 employees are ever inside the building at one time, Schnepp said.
Orland Square employees are being directed to self-screen for symptoms and stay home if they’re ill. Upon reporting to work, they’ll have their temperatures taken and will be sent home if symptomatic or feverish, according to the safety protocols.
Work stations will be separated by 6 feet or a barrier and mall employees will be required to wear facial coverings while on the property. They are encouraged to take frequent breaks for handwashing, according to the safety protocol.
The retail stores within the mall are being asked to follow the same safety protocols for their employees and shops, including prework screening for symptoms and mask wearing.
Mall tenants are also being asked to monitor and manage their store occupancy so as not to exceed the targets set by state or local authorities, to regularly sanitize high-touch areas and to encourage 6 feet distancing.
Opinions vary
Maggie Underwood, of Orland Park, said that despite the lifting of some restrictions she intends to continue dining at home and doing most of her shopping online for the foreseeable future.
With more than 1,000 Illinoisans still testing positive for COVID-19 daily, she said she doesn’t believe the state is quite ready for outdoor dining.
While no one in her household is medically compromised, Underwood said her 48-year-old brother recently died after contracting the coronavirus at a Chicago rehabilitation center where he’d been recovering from lung cancer complications.
As a result, she said she is sensitive to people at an elevated risk from COVID-19 and believes it’s our responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us.
“If a mask can save a life, let’s do the best we can,” she said. “Every life matters.”
Underwood made an appointment for a haircut Sunday, but said she doesn’t know yet if she’ll keep it.
A friend of hers with family members in a highrisk group also recently booked a hair appointment, but ultimately canceled it over safety concerns, she said.
“I’m still assessing the risks versus benefits of going,” Underwood said.
Tinley Park resident Elise Rohan, on the other hand, is firmly decided.
The 33-year-old physical therapist is itching to return to her pre-COVID existence and already has made two restaurant reservations and booked appointments for a haircut and a pedicure, she said.
“I could not be more excited,” for the lockdown to end, said Rohan, who planned to celebrate her newfound freedom with coworkers at a Palos Hills brewpub Friday night.
“I think it’s going to be weird,” she said of dining out under the many restrictions imposed by the pandemic. “But if this is going to be the new normal and it’s going to allow us to go out and allow these places to open, then I think it’s just kind of what we have to do.”
Rohan said she continues to wear a mask in public and adhere to distancing rules, but believes the state’s restrictions have been more severe than necessary.
“I was more on the cautious side at the beginning,” she said. “But just seeing how other states have opened up and we have not, it made me think we were a little bit too strict.”
Rohan, who is hoping to hold her wedding in late August, said the one thing she still wouldn’t be comfortable doing at this point is attending a packed festival or concert.
Assisting restaurants
Oak Lawn has followed other south and southwest suburbs in working to make it easier for restaurants to open outdoor dining until buildings are reopened for customers.
The Village Board approved a resolution during a special meeting Friday to institute a temporary outdoor dining and drinking policy that will fast-track the process for inspections and permit approvals.
Mayor Sandra Bury said it was intended to help businesses wishing to expand seating to sidewalks or parking spaces. Some have expressed interest in setting up open-air dining tents, she said.
As of Thursday, 16 businesses had contacted the village to express interest in adding or expanding outdoor dining and drinking options and more are expected to follow.
Bury said she’d like to see more businesses get up and running, while balancing their return with the implementation of safety measures.
“Our police definitely have better things to do than go and shag businesses and shoppers,” Bury said. “I’m hoping people just recognize that to move through this we have to be cooperative with the process.”
She encouraged residents and shoppers to wear masks out of consideration and respect for others and said anyone in a high-risk group or who just doesn’t yet feel comfortable spending extensive time in public around other people should do what’s best for them, even if it means staying home.
The mayor said she wanted residents who are eager to flock to Oak Lawn’s reopened businesses to know that the village takes safety seriously.
“If we get a lot of reports about problems, we are not afraid to do what we need to do to make it safe,” she said.