Dining igloos in Charlotte — where are they, are they safe and why aren’t there more?
You’ve probably seen the arctic resorts in Finland and Norway advertising their all-glass igloo hotels that allow for glimpses of the illusive Northern Lights. Thanks to COVID-19, Charlotte now has some igloos of its own … with glimpses of the Queen City’s lights. Almost the same, right?
These creative concepts have been popping up at restaurants around the country in response to the collision of winter and COVID-19. Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants have had to get creative with ways to safely serve guests. So where can you find them in Charlotte, are they safe and why are some restaurant owners opting not to use them? We’ve got answers.
Are they safe?
Dining igloos provide protection from the wind and elements and unlike indoor spaces, can allow for individual groups to be isolated from other patrons.
“It keeps the group that you’re potentially exposed to while dining out much smaller,” said Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “From just a mathematical basis, it’s safer than dining in a restaurant, where you have, potentially, exposure to multiple other people.”
That being said, the key to safe bubble dining comes down to proper sanitation, ventilation and restricting use to one table of individuals in the same family or pandemic pod.
Sanitation between use is critical to ensure that air droplets do not linger on surfaces as the next guests arrive. All surfaces must be cleaned using EPA-registered disinfectants between groups. Since ventilation within igloos is limited (even domes with windows don’t provide enough air flow to significantly reduce risk), they should be opened and aired out for at least 15 minutes after use. This allows lingering aerosol droplets and particles, as well as chemical vapors to dissipate.
Perhaps the single most important element to igloo safety is one that falls on diners themselves: opting to dine as a family unit or pandemic pod. Igloos are small spaces and once inside, especially unmasked to eat and drink, the risk of transmission among its occupants is high. For this reason, experts advise dining only within your own pandemic pod.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “The simple rule of thumb: Don’t dine inside one with anyone you wouldn’t feel safe with inside a phone booth.”
Where can I find them?
The Goodyear House in NoDa is the first in Charlotte to offer igloo seating, having ordered its initial batch of four igloos back in July.
“We knew we had to figure out something for the winter months, and we researched everything from greenhouses to these igloos,” said Sean Potter, general manager and partner. “They were popping up all over Europe, and we decided to place an order for four. Who knew they would sell out so fast? When we went to order more, they were out of stock.” The Goodyear House is now on multiple waitlists to get additional igloos.
Safety and adherence to North Carolina guidelines is of paramount importance to The Goodyear House, which opened only a month before the pandemic began. “We take safety very seriously and are probably overly cautious in our process,” Potter said.
The Goodyear House holds three seatings nightly, with reservations required. Guests must call and specify a 5 p.m., 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. seating. Between each seating, the igloos are fully sanitized with an EPA-registered cleaner and the window flaps as well as the main door flap is opened for 15-20 minutes for ventilation.
Additionally, all guests are required to follow North Carolina mask mandates, which currently require masks be worn while dining except when eating or drinking. Goodyear staff wear masks at all times.
In an effort to pay it forward, The Goodyear House is requiring a $25 reservation fee for its igloos. All fees go to its 5013c, The Goodyear Giving Foundation, which gives back to community organizations and events.
The restaurant is also in the process of finalizing the building a 20-by-30 covered pergola to offer additional outdoor seating options.
The Mother Earth Group is seating guests in its greenhouses at both Fern on East Boulevard and Halcyon at the Mint Museum uptown. The six-by-eight greenhouses feature heaters, because as President Jill Marcus told CharlotteFive, “Baby, it’s cold outside.”
All greenhouses are sanitized and vented between guests, and COVID-19 safety protocols are in place at each of the group’s restaurants. Reservations are required for the greenhouses at Halcyon — which sold out almost immediately for the three weekends in December before the restaurant closes to rebrand before opening again in February 2021. There are still some weekday spaces available, and the greenhouses at Fern are available on a first-come first-served basis.
Will there be more?
While the novelty and flexibility of bubble dining has been the right choice for some Charlotte restaurant owners, others have opted to go a different direction.
“We discussed it as a group and decided that we were not comfortable with the inherent risks associated with them,” said Bruce Moffat, head of the Moffat Restaurant Group, which owns Barrington’s, Good Food on Montford, Stagioni and NC Red.
“We have set up outdoor seating at all of the restaurants, taking steps to ensure that we are in compliance with state mandates. We have also installed heaters on all of our patios to help extend the outdoor dining as long as possible. At this time, we have chosen not to use side covering so that we may maintain proper ventilation at all times. We are fully aware that we will be impacted as the weather turns colder but feel it essential to take employee and customer health very seriously.”
For Jamie Brown, co-owner of Haberdish, Reigning Doughnuts, Crepe Cellar and Growlers Pourhouse, the conscious decision came down to lack of space, the added expense on top of already costly COVID-19 safety measures, and the unknown: “Particularly, northern cities are starting to shut down again,” Brown said.
Looking for other outdoor dining options that won’t leave you frostbitten? Check out our latest guide to outdoor patio dining. It was last updated in February, which was at least three years ago by 2020 math, so we are updating it again for next week as we speak.
