By Chris Caraveo
Twitter: @ChrisCaraveo31

Today is the first day restaurants in Arizona can resume dine-in services, while keeping in mind social distancing guidelines.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order in late March that discouraged restaurants from letting people eat inside is no more, and his extended stay-at-home order is set to expire after Friday.

For Laura Hansen, owner of Saddle Mountain Brewing Company in Goodyear, life under the order has been abysmal, but she has been anticipating the day patrons would be able to dine in again.

“For those who are supporting us and coming out when they can, unbelievably appreciative of that,” she said of dine-out options. “But the truth is, the amount that is happening is not sufficient just to cover basic bills.”

Ms. Hansen is targeting to reopen Tuesday, using Monday to train with staff on new policies they are implementing.

“Once we get that confirmation that we have enough actual employees to open, then we are happy to do so,” she said. “Everyone’s very excited. We can’t wait to get back to some sense of normalcy.”

As part of the state’s decision to reopen restaurants for dining in, those places must provide physical distancing between parties, adjust occupancies and limit groups to 10 or less. Those guidelines will affect how restaurants arrange their dining areas and furniture.

“And we’ll do our best to promote that social distancing concept,” Ms. Hansen said. “I want to stress to the common person that comes in and witnesses it, we are going to do all that we can to make sure there is decent spacing between people. But there are realities and logistical nightmares that we are going to try to hurdle over. Trying to keep customers happy. So we have to adjust on the fly. There is no set way to write that down.”

Today’s allowed resuming of dining in does not come without previous defiance. Multiple restaurants in Wickenburg started letting patrons eat inside as early as May 1, the day Mr. Ducey’s initial stay-at-home order would have been over. However, on April 29, he extended the order to May 15 and said officials would discuss the possibility of resuming dine-in services as early as the week of May 11.

In addition, several county sheriff’s, including in Mohave, Gila and Pinal, had said they wouldn’t enforce the stay-at-home order, though agreed people needed to promote social distancing.

“I will not turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals who are simply trying to stay afloat and put food on the table,” Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster stated May 1. “It is easier for those in government who continue to receive paychecks, to recommend staying the course. Unfortunately, this is not an option for so many who are financially struggling on a daily basis.”

According to Steve Chucri, president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association, restaurant food sales in the state topped $13.4 billion in 2019. However, he estimates that restaurants have been losing between $25 million and $30 million per day during the closures.

“What does reopening look like? It will be different for everybody,” said Mr. Chucri, who also serves on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

He added that kitchen workers and bartenders should be wearing masks and gloves. And when servers take payments, the hope is it’s as touchless as possible. As far as checking temperatures, that might only happen with employees.

The ARA’s recommendations include following restrictions adopted by the state in compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including proper distancing between groups — those waiting for a table or those already seated — and limiting the number of people in any dining party to 10. Technology should also be used to decrease the number of patrons waiting in or near the establishment.

In addition, further sanitation methods should be considered, like new ways to handle menus and the ordering process, moving away from traditional reusable menus, and employing options to decrease menu touch points through technology and other means. Options include having diners view menus on their phones, placing menu boards around the restaurant, offering single-use menus that are discarded after use, or sanitizing easily cleanable — like fully-laminated — menus after each use.

Ms. Hansen said Saddle Mountain will continue to promote take-out, delivery and curbside services as there will be customers who aren’t ready to get back to dining in.

“I think we have both sides of the coin,” Ms. Hansen said about reopening the dining area. “We have those that are unbelievably excited, which I’m super thrilled with. We haven’t really seen the naysayers or those who are a little extra scared of this whole situation.

“We hope it stays that way. We hope that customers that want to come in, do. I’m also encouraging those who don’t, to not. No one’s forcing you to come in and be a part of it if it’s still uncomfortable for you to do so. We’ll welcome you back when you are comfortable. If you’re comfortable now, we are too.”

Up in Peoria, Jorge Cota and his sister Meliza Miranda are foraying into their first batch of dine-in customers ever. Mexican restaurant Mochilero Kitchen opened in early April for dine-out options only as Mr. Ducey’s orders had been in effect for about a week.

They plan to start dine-in the week of May 22, using the next several days to train and figure out what policies they’ll have once they do open their dining area.

“It’s a different service model that restaurants are going to have to follow,” Mr. Cota said, adding these enhanced health measures might stick around for years to come.

Mr. Cota said his employees are receiving full paychecks and haven’t had to file for unemployment. The restaurant is already drawing regulars, with some patrons living about 5 minutes away.

They’ll also adjust the floor plan, including the seating areas, as employees work to address recommendations from state and federal guidelines.

And as Mochilero nears a full opening, Mr. Cota hopes people have an understanding that the next few months will be a challenge for restaurants, especially small businesses.

Inspections still ongoing

Amid the closing of dine-in services and todays re-openings, the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department continues to send out inspectors to ensure compliance with food safety and health codes.

Darcy Kober, director of the MCESD, says the department has around 70 inspectors that have conducted about 900 inspections each week for the last several weeks since COVID-19 shuttered dine-in services. That’s down from the roughly 1,100-1,300 inspections conducted each week. The department issues more than 24,000 food-related permits, leading to around 57,000 yearly inspections.

“The last several weeks have been difficult for restaurant operators as many were impacted the governor’s order that suspended dine-in services,” Ms. Kober said. “Some operators were able to quickly adjust their business model to take out, drive thru or delivery service while others closed temporarily. For those that remained open, our staff served as an education resource to answer questions as kitchen operations were adjusted.”

Maricopa County is not requiring pre-inspections of restaurants to resume dine-in, with Ms. Kober clarifying that those businesses that suspended dining in did so at direction of Gov. Doug Ducey’s order, so the direction to resume also falls on that authority.

Typical compliance inspections are unannounced, and no notice is provided to an operator.

“There are limited circumstances where an inspection is prearranged, but those exceptions are not related to routine inspections,” stated Lisa M. Blyler of the Maricopa County Joint Information Center. “The County does not have undercover inspectors; however, we do respond and investigate complaints that we receive.”

Restaurants and other businesses subject to inspection by the department — as well as the public — can view guidance documents for those businesses at www.esd.maricop.gov by clicking the COVID-19 page.

The food code requires restaurants to have a certified food protection manager on staff with knowledge of food-borne disease prevention. They must also properly disinfect food preparation and dining areas and have a policy in place that requires employees to report illness and stay home if they are sick.

Businesses should also ensure hot/cold equipment are operating, food supply is wholesome, and that there is an adequate supply of soap and disinfectant on hand.

“With these food safety measures in place, we expect a smooth transition back to dine-in services,” Ms. Kober said.