Outdoor dining opens

#Middlebury #COVID19 #Restaurants

Pies & Pub customers enjoy a beautiful sunny evening on the patio recently. The patio and two other areas outside the restaurant are open for dining. (Marjorie Needham photo)

BY MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Middlebury restaurants that in mid-March were forced to close except for takeout and delivery were allowed to reopen May 20. Six local restaurants were up and running on that day – Kitchen 64, Le Bobadel Gourmet Market, Maggie McFly’s, Meet Me Here, Pies & Pub, and Senor Panchos. All had met the state requirements for reopening, applied to the town for a permit allowing temporary outdoor seating and been inspected and approved by Middlebury Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco.

Since then Vyne Restaurant also has opened for outdoor dining, and Bosco said the Middlebury Recreation Area and Sandy Beach Club are certified outdoor recreation areas also open on a limited basis.

Bosco said he was very pleased with the cooperation from the other food service businesses. He noted that some have challenges as to where to locate the outdoor dining area. Others, like Pies & Pub, Senor Pancho’s, Maggie McFly’s and Vyne already had patio seating, so all they had to do was make it comply with the state guidelines on social distancing and hygiene safeguards.

The state’s sector guidelines for restaurants detail how the restaurants are to operate during this time. Employees must be properly trained, and a cleaning plan must be in place. Employees must wear a facemask or other cloth face covering, contact among them must be minimized, and a log of employees on the premises must be maintained. Gloves are required for table servers and must be replaced frequently.

Customers also must bring and wear masks or cloth face coverings, obviously taking them off when eating.

Separate entrances and exits are encouraged, so customer traffic will be one way, and hand sanitizer is to be made available at the entrance. Tables must be spaced at least 6 feet apart, and restaurants can only operate up to 50% capacity.

Two things are gone, perhaps for good. One is the large condiment bottle. No more ketchup or mustard bottle on the table. Now condiments are allowed only in single-use containers. Also gone are menus that are reused. Paper menus have taken their place and are to be disposed of after they are used.

The state also has provided signs listing the precautions the restaurant is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the actions customers can take to protect the restaurant employees.

Because seating is limited, reservations are recommended. To make reservations, you can reach Kitchen 64 at 203-528-3328, Le Bobadel Gourmet Market at 203-528-4061 or 203-819-9065, Maggie McFly’s at 203-577-2205, Meet Me Here at 203-577-2242, Pies & Pub at 203-598-7221, Senor Panchos at 203-527-7634 and Vyne at 203-518-4000.

Both the restaurants currently offering outdoor dining and those that are not continue to offer takeout and/or delivery as they were doing before May 20.