Crave's rooftop Ice bar
The other thing that happened yesterday, was that the State of Minnesota decided to loosen the restrictions on bars and restaurants which it had enacted before Thanksgiving.
Due to the decrease in COVID numbers over the past few weeks of tighter restrictions, the following changes have been made, effective on Monday, January 11th:
- Restaurants and bars can re-open for indoor dining at 50% capacity, up to 150 people max. Tables can be no more than 6 people.
- Bar counter seating is back, for parties of 2, stationed 6 feet apart. But that change does not overrule the City of Minneapolis restriction against bar rail seating set by Mayor Frey earlier this year. Maybe we'll hear from him today.
- Movies, bowling alleys, and museums can re-open at 25% capacity.
- Outdoor events can operate at 25% or up to 250 people max.
- There remains a 10pm end-time for indoor dining, while takeout can continue past that time.
While those hard partiers at the outlaw Alibi Drinkery probably won't skip a beat, there were mixed reactions from restaurant people. Key thing to remember: this is January, perhaps the worst month for restaurants. Getting a chance to roll the dice during a time of pinched post-holiday budgets, Whole-30 mania, potential polar vortex drop-ins, and now more political unrest, well, yay.
Some are raring to go! Billy of Billy Sushi in North Loop is all set: Super Excited! is what he texted me at the news. Same with the Jester Group, PS Steak is already taking reservations, as is their Monello. If you're wondering what I was wondering: what happens to Dirty Sam's, the kickass sandwich ghost kitchen currently running out of Monello? "It will still be around through Sunday," chef Mike DeCamp told me, "then we will pause for a little while to get used to 'regular' service." Lots of places will open, look through their socials for current info (read: no, I'm not making a list.)
Other places are excited by the news, but need a little more of a lead. Mike Brown of Travail said that Pig Ate My Pizza would open as soon as possible, but, "Travail is the type of machine that takes about two or three weeks to restart at least." Justin Sutherland told me that he will definitely be bringing back Handsome Hog, just not by Monday. "It's not a light switch. We're going to need a full two weeks to be able to cook our food and get back up and running. We want to make sure we're doing it right." Look for an opening at the end of the month, for sure the first week of February (which also happens to be the launch of his new TV show, Fast Foodies). Sutherland said he is lucky that about 70% of his staff are still original employees, so they have a tight group that will be ready to come back.
Then there are restaurants that will stay closed, regardless of the permissions.
And others, like Dark Horse Eatery, which had chosen in October to close until spring, will continue to wait it out for brighter days ahead. French Hen and others went dark after the holiday kits went out the door, no word yet as to whether this loosening of rules will get them back in the saddle.
And some, well, they don't know. "I talked to the team at Trattoria," Tim Niver of Mucci's and Saint Dinette told me, "and I said: what do you guys wanna do?" They are trying to figure out if it's worth it to throw open now or not, "it's less about restrictions than it is about how much funding is coming. And when." Nobody really knows when the new PPP funding will come through, and for many that's the game changer, not how many seats and patio buffers they can have. "It would be great to get a bit of relief so we could navigate this and figure it out. St. Paul downtown is dead right now, and takeout is softer, we're coming into the first non-holiday weekend in a long time. We don't know what that feels like right now."
There's a similar range of feelings among workers. Some I talked to were very wary about returning to work so soon after the spike, worrying that the holiday travelers will be bringing new cases into their restaurant space. Others were feeling the pinch and wanted to get back to work. None of them, and I tell you strongly that NONE of them, are excited for the entitled anti-maskers who think that rules don't really apply to them. I hope every server and bartender carries a card for the Alibi Drinkery and hands it to anyone giving guff, at least they now know where they can go.
So go out to restaurants if you can, patio if you're willing, get takeout during the week, and keep the faith that we're going to pull each other through!
