Philadelphia Restaurants Preparing To Reopen For Outdoor Seating Friday After 'Really Tough Three Months'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- After nearly three months of being shut down, restaurants that have outdoor seating in Philadelphia are finally expected to reopen Friday. Some restaurants in Center City will remain boarded up but they will have outside seating beginning Friday.
How it will work will vary by restaurant, but diners can expect a lot less seating and possibly higher prices.
"We're trying to get ready for Friday," said John Arena, with the Chestnut Grill on Germantown Avenue.
Arena is planning to reopen the Chestnut Grill after shutting down for almost all of the spring.
"We're just really happy to begin getting back open again. It's been a really tough three months," he said.
There will only be outside seating at Chestnut Grill. And there's a wide distance between tables, which are separated by plants.
It's to make sure diners remain at least six feet apart. They'll also have sanitizing stations.
"We have maks for any customers who might come in and not have a mask," Arena said.
The reopening is welcome news to Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass.
"They have great chicken wings and they have a great little $5 special if you come early," Bass said.
Meanwhile, some retail stores are already opening, like Kashiyama, a custom suit store at 15th and Walnut Streets in Center City.
"Happy to be back for sure. Happy to see clients," Quinn Quinsler said.
But to stay open, it's restricting the number of people who can be in the store and is making other changes too.
"We do sanitation of any touchpoints between each appointment. We've allotted more time for that," Quinsler said. "Any garments that are tried on during the appointment are actually steam-cleaned and set aside for a period of time."
Philadelphia health officials say they will continue to analyze data. So if the city sees a spike of COVID-19 cases, regulations could become more restrictive.
