Gov. reopens dining in outdoor seating areas
New rule doesn’t apply to the northwest part of state, where virus has spread rapidly
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made an unexpected announcement Tuesday that restaurants across most of New Mexico could reopen to dine-in patrons Wednesday — but only in outdoor seating areas.
The “soft reopening” of dining services requires restaurants to limit customers to 50 percent of capacity on outdoor patios, where tables must be set at least 6 feet apart to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Governor’s Office said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
Carol Wight, CEO of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, lauded the decision.
“We believe this will provide restaurants
the opportunity to ease back into the swing of things while taking the time to properly train staff and implement COVID-19 safe procedures effectively, before fully opening to the public on June 1,” Wight said in the news release.
The surprise announcement came as the city of Santa Fe was moving forward with plans to join other U.S. cities in allowing expanded outdoor dining during the pandemic.
Randy Randall, executive director of Tourism Santa Fe, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, sent an email Friday to 385 restaurants pitching the idea of using sidewalks and parking spaces to seat some customers when the state allowed dine-in services to resume.
That was expected to happen Monday.
Lujan Grisham, in a news conference late last week, cited June 1 as the target date to allow limited restaurant dining as part of a phased-in reopening of business operations shut down by the pandemic.
Indoor restaurant dining remains on target to reopen Monday, the Governor’s Office said in the news release.
Bars that serve food but derive more than 50 percent of revenue from alcoholic beverages are not yet permitted to reopen for patio dining. The new rule also doesn’t apply to counties in the northwestern part of the state — McKinley, San Juan and Cibola — where the virus has taken a heavy toll.
Wight said the New Mexico Restaurant Association also recommends restaurants in Doña Ana County, which has seen a recent increase in coronavirus cases, “seriously consider refraining from participation in this soft opening.”
Some restaurateurs in Santa Fe said they won’t be ready to open Monday — let alone be set to offer patio dining Wednesday with just a day’s notice.
L’Olivier chef Xavier Grenet said he would try to open the French restaurant’s downtown patio Wednesday but likely wouldn’t be ready until Thursday or Friday.
The restaurant has remained open for curbside service Thursday through Saturday.
“I will just order more food Wednesday,” Grenet said. “I’ll get one or two guys in the kitchen, including myself. My menu will not be as big.”
Il Piatto chef and owner Matt Yohalem said he hopes outdoor dining in Santa Fe doesn’t stop with patios, sidewalks and parking spaces.
“Let’s start there,” Yohalem said. “You gotta take it one step at a time. The ultimate goal is to close off as much of downtown as we can.”
Rick Galligan, general manager of Thunderbird Bar & Grill on the Plaza, called the city’s decision to open sidewalks and parking spaces to outdoor dining a “smart, smart decision.”
“It just makes sense,” he said. Like Yohalem, Galligan also sees an opportunity to push the concept further.
With Lincoln Avenue along the Plaza already shut down in summer months, Galligan said, he would like to see restaurant tables on the street.
Randall understands that. “If this were Europe,” he said, “our Plaza would be surrounded by restaurants.”
The practice of street dining has been a growing movement throughout the U.S. this spring, with some cities choosing to close streets to traffic to create more space for diners, many of whom prefer eating outdoors to lower risks of contracting the coronavirus.
Just since April, tables and chairs have been set out on city streets in Cincinnati; Las Vegas, Nev.; Tampa, Fla.; and Savannah, Ga.
Berkeley, Calif., is eager to shut down some streets for dining, and Chicago suburb Arlington Heights is creating an Arlington Alfresco on one of its downtown streets, according to USA Today.
Brookhaven, Ga., might have been the first to start the initiative, the newspaper reported.
The city of Santa Fe would charge a one-time $100 rightof-way fee for a participating restaurant to allow sidewalk or parking space dining through Labor Day — the initial time frame for the initiative — or through October, if the program is extended, Randall said.
He emphasized that sidewalk or parking space dining could be done in any area of the city where a restaurant can safely serve customers in front of its building.
In his notice to restaurants Friday, Randall said requests to use sidewalks or parking spaces to expand capacity would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
“All street situations are different, with each restaurant location, so this may not be a possible option in all situations,” the email said.
Restaurateur Quinn Stephenson believes he can get eight four-seat tables in front of his downtown Santacafé on an extended sidewalk and in parking spaces along Lincoln Avenue.
The restaurant sits across the street from Federal Park.
“You do have a lovely view of all the trees at the federal courthouse,” Stephenson said.