Community, Lead Stories, News

Restaurants open for outdoor dining

After 13 weeks of coronavirus-induced economic shutdown, it appears as though a sense of normalcy is beginning to return to Westchester County. On June 9, the Mid-Hudson Region became the latest area in New York to advance to Phase Two of a four-stage statewide re-opening plan, allowing certain businesses to resume operations. Among the activities allowed, under a June 4 executive order, by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, was the resumption of outdoor dining at restaurants. Since March 17, most area eateries had previously been limited to takeout and delivery services.

On June 9, area restaurants, including Mickey Spillane’s in Eastchester, were able to seat outdoor diners under Phase Two of the New York state reopening plan. Some regions of the state have already moved on to Phase Three, which would see limited indoor dining. Photo/Mike Smith

Stephen Carty, owner of Mickey Spillane’s Pub in Eastchester, said that news about the re-opening was welcome, but not wholly unexpected. According to Carty, Mickey Spillane’s opened its rooftop patio for lunch last Tuesday and the transition has been a smooth one.

“We have been in constant communication with the state since the beginning of all the mayhem,” Carty said. “There have been a lot of webinars, they were constantly updating us with information, and unlike a lot of other places, we have been running patio dining for a few years now, so we had everything ready to go, in terms of furniture.”

Carty admits that his staff has been forced to make some adjustments in order to comply with state guidelines, however. By reducing the number of tables in the outdoor area from 15 to nine, mandating temperature checks for employees reporting to work and requiring staff to wear facemasks and gloves, Carty said he was able to assuage any COVID-19-related fears that his workers—and his customers—might have.

“We had everyone come in before we opened, had a staff meeting about social distancing and everything we were implementing; and I said that we weren’t going to put anyone out there who wasn’t comfortable,” he said. “But everyone was eager to come back and I think that the confidence on our part helped our customers feel confident, too.”

On June 15, Cuomo announced that New York State had enjoyed its lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths in a three-day period since the pandemic began, moving five of the state’s 10 regions into Phase Three of the reopening plan which would allow for venues to host indoor dining—assuming that dining rooms are operating at under 50 percent capacity.

For Carty and other restaurateurs, Phase Three can’t come soon enough.

“It was great being able to open the doors to our customers,” he said. “Everyone has done a great job and seeing people walk through those doors, it was definitely enlightening.”