MOUNTAIN AREA — A trade group representing California restaurants has drafted a plan to allow the industry to reopen for sit-down dining.
The new proposal would include a number of safeguards for diners and staff while avoiding possible requirements imposed in other states that customers have their temperature taken or the number of tables in the restaurant be dramatically limited, according to the Associate Press, which first reported the plan after the group’s recommendations were submitted to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday.
“Only family members or people who live together would sit at the same table. Buffets, salad bars and shared bread baskets would be out. Salt and pepper shakers could be replaced by bottles of hand sanitizer. And meals could arrive from food servers sheathed in face masks,” the plan reportedly states.
The recommendations were drafted by the California Restaurant Association in partnership with the California Conference of Local Health Officers and the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health.
The governor is expected to announce as early as this week a revised plan for reopening California businesses. Golden State restaurants have been shuttered for sit-down dining since the governor issued his stay-at-home order in late March.
For an update-to-date list of local restaurants currently offering take-out and curbside service, click here.