Updated reopening guidelines for bars were released Monday, leaving a week for business owners to make final preparations. Bars can resume — or in some cases locally begin — business at 50 percent capacity on June 29, the same day groups of up to 50 people are allowed to gather publicly.
Other guidelines on par with other industries include requiring employees to wear face masks and ensuring social distancing.
The Pub on Second is preparing to open their doors for the first time ever. Owner John Condray said he thought the state was going to release guidelines last week, and he’s still concerned the date might get pushed back again at the last minute.
That’s why he has been hesitant to make a formal opening announcement, hoping not to disappoint customers.
“We know we can open on the 29th and that’s what we’re shooting for, but we’re not making it a 100 percent yes just in case something changes,” he said. “I think we can kind of go on the fly with it.”
Shawn Plemmons, owner of Ten O Six, expressed the same frustration of being in limbo while guidelines for businesses allowed to reopen on the same date were already available.
Plemmons said Ten O Six took a hard hit financially in the past few months, but he’s happy to be able to open again — even though he wished it was at 100 percent capacity.
“I don’t expect a crazy crowd on a Monday, but I’ll open exactly when they say and not a second later,” Plemmons said. “It is what it is. You take what you get and move on with it. It’s really the only thing that I know to do, is do the best with what you got.”
Plemmons said he took advantage of the closure to make some upgrades and arrangements to the outside seating area, which he said is the highlight at Ten O Six.
“Hopefully we can have a nice smooth transition and get back to some kind of normalcy,” he said.
The Pub on Second was originally supposed to open in May before the pandemic hit, but they are ready to welcome in the community.
“We’re physically 100 percent ready to rock,” Condray said. “We’re hoping to see a lot of familiar faces and a lot of new ones as well and get back to serving our friends and family that have been wanting us to get open.”
