The State of Minnesota has issued some new guidelines for restaurants now allowing groups of up to 10 people to dine together and groups of four at the bar. All other guidelines, such as the mandatory mask requirement for staff and guests, max capacity of 50 percent, and social distancing remain in effect.
Jasmine Melsa, the owner of Drafts Sports Bar & Grill, said things have been going well despite the restrictions, and the larger groups will make things a little easier. “The restrictions definitely make things a little bit tougher, but for the most part everything has been going fine,” said Melsa. “As far as having groups of 10, that will definitely make things a little bit easier. Before we would split them into a couple of different tables. People like to sit together and it’s definitely going to make things a little more streamlined.”
Laurie Stahlecker, the owner of Scobey’s Pub & Grub at Crookston Inn, also said the new guidelines don’t change much. “It doesn’t really affect us other then we can have 10 at a table which we couldn’t before,” said Stahlecker. “That will help with some of the bigger groups that come in but we’ll only be able to use that from 4-9 p.m. for our dine-in service because that’s only restaurants, not for the bar.”
Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream had announced they’d reopen their dining room for the first time since March beginning Monday, however, Manager Brooke Panzer said after reevaluating that decision, they’re unsure when they’ll reopen the dining room. “We reevaluated and decided that it was best that we stay pickup and delivery only,” said Panzer. “So, we’ll be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. for pickup and delivery.”
Crookston Eagles Manager Jake Fee said any change is a benefit but there is still a long way to go. “Any kind of mild relaxing of the guidelines is going to be a benefit for our industry,” said Fee. “Going from four to six, whether or not your family to 10 will make it a little bit easier to hold some slightly larger events. We still have to make sure we’re social distancing. We’re still at reduced capacity but at the end of the day any relaxing of the guidelines is always a benefit. I’m appreciative of it but we still have a long way to go. Dancing is not recommended, there is no karaoke still in the State of Minnesota, some other things that are still a little restrictive. But any kind of relaxing of the guidelines right now I think is appreciated by our industry.”
