Home / Weekly Vignette on WCRN 830 AM / June 6th, 2020 – New MA Phases for opening Restaurants
3 June, 2020

June 6th, 2020 – New MA Phases for opening Restaurants

Posted in : Weekly Vignette on WCRN 830 AM on by : Out With Joe

How the new Massachusetts restaurant reopening rules will change the dining experience

From the waiting area to the table.

Disposable menus. Closed bars. Ketchup and mustard only upon request.

Going out to eat in the coronavirus era will be a noticeably different experience when Massachusetts restaurants resume dine-in service in Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan.

For the first time Friday afternoon, Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration released rules and recommendations for when Bay Staters can return to restaurants, which have been restricted to delivery and takeout for nearly two-and-a-half months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Restaurants will be able to start outdoor table service when Phase 2 begins, which the Baker administration will determine shortly.. maybe even today, the phases of the state’s reopening plan are each three weeks or more, depending on public health data .. meanwhile Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said Friday that the administration is working with lawmakers on a bill to streamline the local licensing process for outdoor dining.

Baker said.    “You’re gonna see a lot of parking lots and other open spaces convert,” Indoor dining will be allowed to resume at a later point during Phase 2.

For both indoor and outdoor dining, restaurants will have to implement a myriad of social distancing and hygiene measures to limit the potential spread of the virus — not dissimilar to the standards that other New England states have imposed.

Still, from the moment customers arrive, they’ll see some distinct changes….restaurants are advised to establish one-way entrances and exits, and even directional hallways, if possible, similar to what many local grocery stores have done with their aisles to minimize contact between different groups

Customers will be prohibited from congregating or lingering in waiting rooms; reservations and call-ahead seating is encouraged.

The new standards says that tables must be spaced at least six feet away from each other, as well as from high traffic areas, such as bathrooms and entrances (unless they’re divided be a wall or divider).

Seating and service at bars will be closed, though bar areas may be repurposed to fit more seated tables … by the way .. bars that only serve alcohol and do not have on-site kitchen areas won’t be allowed to reopen until Phase 3).

Restaurant party sizes will be limited to six people, so any groups larger than that will be forced to break up into separate tables.

The new rules also prohibit self-serve stations often associated with fast-casual restaurants.

Unattended buffets, topping bars, drink stations, and other communal serving areas must be closed.

The same goes for side amenities unrelated to food or beverage service; dance areas, pool tables, or other recreational offerings must be closed or removed.

The rules also ban reusable menus. Instead, restaurants have three options: they can provide customers paper menus that must be disposed of after each use; they can put up a digital display or chalkboard menu; or they can refer customers to view an electronic menu on their phone or other mobile device.

also pre-set refillable condiment containers will be banned. Things like ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, and salad dressing will only be provided upon request and in single-serving portions.

The rules ban pre-set utensils and place settings, which must be either single-use or sanitized between uses.

While tables must be spaced at least six feet apart, the standards implicitly acknowledge that restaurant employees — particularly servers — will necessarily have to break that minimum distancing threshold when taking orders and delivering food. The rules say that staffers must “minimize” the time spent within six feet of customers.

The Governor’s statewide face covering order for businesses also remains in effect. However, while workers must wear a face covering “at all times,” customers are allowed to take off their masks while seated.

“Patrons [must] wear their face covering coming into the restaurants and then moving about the restaurant if they need to use the facility,”

That experience also doesn’t necessarily end when customers walk out the door. Under the new guidelines the Baker administration says restaurants should take the phone number of at least one person in a party for potential contact tracing purposes.

You can find the complete article on OUTWITHJOE Facebook page..

The complete Boston.com article

 

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