NC eases restrictions. Charlotte restaurants, salons, barbers ready for Friday return 

From The Roasting Company at Montford Park to Pur Salon in Steele Creek, many restaurants, salons and other businesses around Charlotte are eagerly prepping to reopen Friday as Gov. Roy Cooper moves the state into phase two of his plan to loosen coronavirus restrictions.

Cooper announced Wednesday he would lift the statewide stay-at-home order — but the move to phase two will be more cautious than originally announced.

The state will shift to a “safer at home” recommendation, and some businesses, originally scheduled to reopen in phase two, will remain closed, including: bars, nightclubs, gyms, indoor entertainment facilities and public playgrounds.

Restaurants, salons and swimming pools will be able to reopen at 50% capacity, Cooper said.

“North Carolinians have made changes and sacrifices in their daily lives and that has helped to flatten the curve,” Cooper said Wednesday.

And gatherings of more than 10 people indoors and more than 25 people outdoors are still banned.

State Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said the state will be ready to move into phase two by the end of the week. “We need to be incredibly vigilant to slow the virus,” Cohen said.

Phase one, which went into effect May 8, allowed most retail businesses to reopen, under certain social distancing requirements.

Businesses prepare

Doug Bell, managing partner of RoCo Holdings, said his restaurant dining rooms will be ready to reopen Friday night. Those sites include The Roasting Company at Montford Park and Plaza Midwood, Eddie’s Place and likely Providence Road Sundries.

The plan will probably follow what the reopening of The Roasting Company site in Rock Hill looked like. That site opened May 13, just a couple of days after S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster allowed dining rooms to re-open at half capacity.

At the Roasting Company, reopening meant removing half the tables, giving customers individual packets of condiments, pre-portioning the popular salsa bar items and gradually adding back items to the now limited menu. In addition, all staff members are wearing masks and there are social distancing markers at the register for ordering.

“The trickier part we haven’t figured out yet is how to handle the bar area,” Bell said.

He said since South Carolina allowed patio dining this month, most groups of people kept their distance.

“Hopefully our biggest problem is finding room to get everyone lined up to order and maintain social distancing,” Bell said.

For people still uncomfortable with going out, the curbside pickup and delivery options launched during the pandemic will remain.

“The biggest thing is just the unknown. I wish I had a better feel from South Carolina, but it’s not enough experience yet to get a handle,” Bell said.

Some breweries will be able to reopen with limited capacity under the modified guidelines, if they fit the state’s definition of a restaurant, according to DHHS. Breweries that do not operate as eating establishments or restaurants will remain closed.

Employees at The Suffolk Punch in South End are ready to reopen as soon as the governor allows it, said Seth Stidham, chief operating officer for the brewery owner organization The Durban Group.

“We are just trying our best to take cues from states that are doing it and predict what is going to be the case,” he said. “Which is pretty much an impossible task.”

The brewery and restaurant plans to space out tables and use sneeze guards, gloves and masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Suffolk Punch has been running to-go service while shut down, but it will be a relief to reopen in some capacity, Stidham said.

“We weren’t really built for to-go,” he said. “We were doing it, but it wasn’t a main revenue sources for us… We had to pivot.”

Bringing the team back

Other restaurants may wait a while before opening.

“The easiest thing to do is make a knee-jerk reaction and open up unprepared,” said David Burgess, chief operating officer of Famous Toastery.

That’s why Famous Toastery is taking calculated steps to reopen.

The Charlotte-based breakfast and lunch restaurant has 23 locations in the Carolinas, including five just south of the state line in the Charlotte region. Two locations — Rock Hill and Indian Land — are still closed despite South Carolina allowing dining rooms to open last week. Burgess said they are trying to get staff back and are hiring.

Burgess said along with bringing staff back, the restaurant is providing a refresher after not working for two months and training on updates, like cleaning protocols and how to set up tables.

There are new offerings, too, like touchless pay and digital menus via cell phones and online ordering that Famous Toastery didn’t offer before the pandemic.

“People want to have online ordering,” Burgess said. “It’s been a huge part of being somewhat stable the last months.”

Staff also will wear masks and gloves, and customers may experience longer wait times with fewer tables available.

Then there’s the food supply. Burgess said there have been menu adjustments based on what’s available, including an egg shortage — a big deal for the breakfast-focused eatery.

He said since having to close the dining rooms, business has been down 85% serving takeout only. However, there’s been an uptick of 20% sales in South Carolina, since patios have been able to reopen.

“It’s not been about making money or producing food, but literally to keep the restaurant going so when we can open, we can bring our team back to work,” Burgess said.

‘This new normal’

Salons and barbershops also are getting ready.

Universal Cuts barbershop owner Sean Richardson said Tuesday he has sanitized the shop, and added hand sanitizer and distancing markers.

If phase 2 is approved, he will likely open Monday, he said.

His barbers will be required to wear masks and gloves.

Customers also will be required to wear face coverings, which will be provided to them. Customers will see prices increase due to the pandemic and supply price increases, as well as safety costs.

PUR Salon in Rivergate at Steele Creek announced online it plans to reopen May 23. “We will conduct business in this new normal,” the company said on Facebook.

The full-service Aveda salon and spa protocols include limiting the number of people in at one time, and disinfecting the store every morning, and each station between customers. Hand sanitizer will be available to customers and restrooms are being updated with automatic soap dispensers, faucets and motion lights.

The salon also is asking customers and employees to wear face coverings.

Great Clips has dozens of locations in the Charlotte region. Stores just over the state line in South Carolina at Lake Wylie and Fort Mill opened Monday with online check-in. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster allowed close-contact businesses to reopen May 18.

According to the company website, some salons may require customers to wear face coverings. To limit the number of people waiting in stores, the staff will call customers when it’s their turn to come in.

At the gym

Opening of gyms, like Anytime Fitness with dozens in the Charlotte region, will have to wait, according to the governor’s Wednesday announcement.

Anytime Fitiness has provided sanitation and safety protocols to club owners, including social distancing signs and floor markers. The centers also have online reservations for members to meet capacity caps. Typically accessible to members all day, gyms will re-open with limited hours to allow cleaning.

Charlotte-area RockBox Fitness centers had prepared to hold classes again on Saturday.

At the Blakeney site, studio re-opening will include class size restrictions, safe distance measures and sanitization protocols, according to its Facebook page.

Movie theaters, originally expected to reopen under phase two, will remain closed under the governor’s modified plan.

Many major theater chains have postponed openings based on movie releases. Texas-based Cinemark, with two Charlotte-area locations, is working on a mid-July opening nationwide, for example. Its theaters are expected to open under reduced operating hours and with social distancing steps.

What’s next

At least four to six weeks after phase two, the state could enter phase three.

Phase three would allow increased capacity at restaurants, bars and other businesses, increase the number of people allowed at gatherings and lessen restrictions on vulnerable populations.

Restrictions on nursing homes and congregate care settings would stay in place, according to the state.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 9:28 AM.