It has been more than a week since Gov. Ron DeSantis rescinded capacity and faces policy constraints for restaurants, bars, department stores and gyms, however, local businesses have combined their emotions about whether allocation will increase sales.
The governor’s executive order moves Florida toward reopening the economy in reaction to the COVID-19 public fitness crisis.
Thanks to this allocation, restaurants, bars and nightclubs that generate more than 50% of alcohol sales can now operate at full capacity. Gyms, fitness centers and beauty salons can operate without occupancy restrictions.
St. Augustine officials are now strongly encouraging the use of masks in the city rather than imposing them.
At the height of the pandemic, Tammy Osborne had to take diners away from the small place to eat he manages, Tammy’s Comfort Food on Ponce De Leon Boulevard, because of the roof.
Now, not only can you occupy all the tables at the popular breakfast, but you can also change the tables faster, which makes Osborne and his faithful guests happy.
The hope is power, if you don’t recover the monetary losses that the closure suffered, at least check to start catching up.
“We were — we were all — in trouble in this service sector, ” said Osborne. “I’m sure some of them probably couldn’t survive. “
Even with the lifting of the 50% restriction, Jeff McNally, co-owner of the place to eat The Floridian on Spanish Street, voluntarily chose to completely install his indoor dining room.
“Overall, we’re too careful, ” said McNally.
After the reopening in March, Florida control did not immediately sit internal visitors, opting to place visitors at outdoor tables, since then, they have opened indoor dining rooms with tables 6 feet aside and with an occupancy rate well below 50%. .
“We need to make a selection not only for ourselves, but also for our staff and ourselves as a facility that helps take public fitness into account,” McNally said. “It still doesn’t seem like the time to open the floodgates. “
McNally stated that she became involved that if the number of COVID-19 instances increased after DeSantis reopened, it would be worse for the hotel industry to have to return to its limited capacity.
“I don’t know why we would need to play this kind of oscillating game,” McNally said. “I think it’s bad for morale, for our servers, for our reputation. . . Since our opening, we’ve put other people before the profits. “
The place to eat didn’t serve as many meals, the Florino had fewer waiters on his payroll, but he kept his kitchen full.
Eduardo Uribe, Taco Queen’s manager on National Highway 207, said it would be some time before the place to eat deserved to lift restrictions.
“If I need to open 100%, I’m going to have to recruit more servers,” Uribe said, “because one of the smart fortune points is service and requires more staff. “
Uribe had to fire several servers in the spring.
Meanwhile, at Michael Kors’ store in St. Louis. Augustine Premium Outlets, a manager told The Record last week that while the crowd of buyers who had once moved away from entry had largely declined, the company’s national corporate policy of continuing to restrict the number of buyers at its outlets at once.
Jennifer Toon, a lunch waitress at Cucina Giovanni, an Italian restaurant on State Road 16, said consumers had definitely responded to last week’s Phase 3 reopening.
“Since then, it’s gotten more and more crowded every day,” Toon said, “and business is going very well. “