Mom’s worth it, study shows

Whether at home or virtually, 86% of consumers still plan to celebrate Mother’s Day today, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual Mother’s Day survey. The total spending could reach $26.7 billion, NRF says, beating last year’s estimated total spend of $25 billion.

More than 78% say celebrating Mother’s Day is important to them this year because of the coronavirus. And 66% plan to celebrate virtually if they cannot be with their mother today due to the pandemic.

The annual survey says we’re interested in spending about $8 more than last year this Mother’s Day for an average of $205 on gifts. Plus, as more consumers are stuck at home, they’re not sticking to the traditional flowers and gifts, NRF says. Consumers surveyed plan to buy housewares and gardening tools (25%), books (24%) and electronics (19%).

Happy Mother’s Day. You mothers deserves a break today.

Restaurants to open dining rooms

There was a huge sigh of relief last week and a cautious tone taken by area restaurateurs when Gov. Mike DeWine announced restaurants and bars can open for business over the next two weeks.

Reporter Mark Fisher and Amelia Robinson reported local restaurant owners are excited about opening their businesses for the first time since March but are still concerned about how they’ll keep their workers and customers safe.

“It’s going to be very hard. My place is very small,” said Sofi Kinde, owner of Nanyea Café in Harrison Twp. “I just want everything to be over. It’s been stressful. For me going from a small cafe to a larger one, I worked really hard. I can’t see everything going down the drain.”

Under the plan recommended by a statewide restaurant-and-health advisory panel and adopted by DeWine, Ohio’s restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen patios and outside dining May 15 and dining rooms for inside dining May 21, under restrictions and guidelines, some mandatory and some recommended, designed to ensure safety for workers and customers. Hair and nail salons and barber shops can reopen as soon as May 15.

“We finally have a date, and that’s fantastic news,” Shanon Morgan, president of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association, told the Dayton Daily News. “Of course, not every restaurant has a patio, so the May 15 date is not going to help some people. But this is a good first step, and it will allow restaurant owners to plan.”

Restaurants and bars will decide if customers will be