NC lifts outdoor mask requirements as Charlotte-area businesses look toward summer

Life in Charlotte is closer to “normal” as more coronavirus-related restrictions will be phased out starting Friday.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said masks will no longer be required outdoors, and mass gathering limits will increase to 100 people indoors and to 200 outdoors.

The new mandate comes a week after Cooper announced he expects to end many COVID-19 restrictions starting June 1.

“While our numbers remain stable, we’re not seeing the decline in metrics that we’d like to see,” Cooper said. “That just tells us that the pandemic is not over. But we do have the power to put it behind us.”

Cooper urged North Carolinians to continue wearing masks indoors and avoiding crowds.

The previous executive order was set to expire Friday.

Under that order outdoor gatherings were limited to 100 people and indoor gatherings to 50 people.

Businesses are in three capacity groups. Capacity limits will remain the same under the newest executive order:

▪ Retail shops, personal care businesses and museums can operate at full capacity.

▪ Restaurants are limited to 75% capacity inside but 100% outside, along with breweries, wineries, amusement parks, gyms and pools.

▪ Bars and night clubs, live performance venues, movie theaters, reception venues, conference centers and and sports arenas are limited to 50% capacity.

The new mandate is scheduled to end June 1 at 5 p.m.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday updated its mask guidelines to say people who are fully vaccinated can safely resume attending small outdoor gatherings without wearing a mask. However, face coverings are still recommended for indoor gatherings and at crowded outdoor events.

The update on business restrictions comes as more people are getting inoculated against COVID-19 and all adults are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine since April 7.

Cooper said if at least two-thirds of N.C. adults get vaccinated with at least one doses, he may be able to lift all mask mandates.

“Let’s work hard in May and get as many people vaccinated as we can before summer gets here,” he said.

During his state of North Carolina address Monday, Cooper urged legislative leaders to work together to ensure recovery after the pandemic.

’Didn’t know if we were going to make it’

One Charlotte bar owner said even though business capacity limits are unchanged until at least June, last month’s increase has helped “tremendously.”

Fire House Bar and Lounge, a 1,900-square-foot hookah lounge on West Carson Boulevard, underwent interior renovations and patio expansion last year while the business was closed, co-owner Clarence Boston said Wednesday. The patio now seats more than 70 people instead of less than 20.

Boston said the bar also now requires customers to reserve table seating.

He said business at Fire House, as well as at Recess Charlotte on Seigle Avenue in Plaza Midwood, is doing better now than even before the pandemic.

“We’ve been busy,” Boston said, “but we’ve been playing catch-up after being closed for months. It was extremely hard and we didn’t know if we were going to make.”

‘The new normal’

Whatever Cooper announced wouldn’t make much difference because patrons already feel more comfortable eating in restaurants again, said Joel Jose, owner of Joel’s Asian Grill & Sushi in Mooresville.

“People are used to being separated from each other, whether when eating in a restaurant or standing in a line,” Jose said Wednesday morning. “It’s the new normal now.”

The ongoing challenge for his and other restaurants nationwide is finding workers, Jose said. The help-wanted sign outside his 20-year-old restaurant on Williamson Road on Lake Norman is among many posted by businesses in the area, he said.

“The problem is with all the stimulus that they’re giving out to people, and people filing for unemployment, they’re making more money from you and me ... than trying to find work,” he said.

RuRu’s Tacos + Tequila normally hires 10 to 12 servers for its prime summer season, “but we’re having a hard time doing that right now,” Eric Ferrufino, a general manager at Providence Road restaurant said Wednesday.

He said business is strong again as more diners venture out.

“We are doing great,” he said. “Our core is back,” referring to the diners who’ve patronized the restaurant since it opened four years ago.

And whenever Cooper restores 100% capacity at restaurants, RuRu’s will be able to add 10 or 12 tables and hire three more servers per shift, Ferrufino said.

‘Any positive news helps’

South Charlotte Banquet Center on Bryant Farms Road is seeing bookings pick up this year heading into wedding and graduation season, manager Anne Robb said Wednesday.

Robb said the center had little to no business last year because of the pandemic. But as more restrictions are lifted, the center is seeing more bookings. She said the center usually books about 25 events a month, including weddings, birthday parties and bar and bat mitzvahs.

“We’re even starting to get more corporate bookings,” Robb said.

The center has one large ballroom with capacity for up to 200, but now operates at half that.

“Any positive news helps businesses, not just myself,” Robb said. “It’s been a long road, and people are waiting for positive news.”

Capacity important to movie theaters

More movie theaters, which were able to reopen under capacity limits in October, began reopening last week. Not all movie theaters have set reopening dates yet, however.

The historic Gem Theatre in Kannapolis is closed for renovations, not because of the pandemic. However, owner Steve Morris said he planned to reopen May 7 then moved the date to coincide with the July 9 release of Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow,” starring Scarlet Johansson.

“We do not have a definite reopening date yet. We may wait for June 1 to coincide with the easing of capacity restrictions,” he told the Observer.

Morris said increased capacity is important for studios willingness to release new movies. It also affects his children’s group that attend the summer matinee series.

“I am trying to determine now whether to risk scheduling them in the event capacity limits do not change,” Morris said.

Regal is reopening theaters in a phases, starting with Stonecrest at Piper Glen 4DX, IMAX & RPX last Friday. More local theaters will reopen May 7.

Stone Theatres, based in Charlotte, also began reopening theaters last week and will reopen its Indian Trail theater Friday.

Studio Movie Grill has not yet announced when the University-area theater will reopen.

Mecklenburg County virus trends

The news comes as coronavirus vaccine providers in Mecklenburg County open more and more walk-in vaccine appointments in the area.

“Right now, it’s critical make it as easy as possible for anyone who wants to vaccine to get it,” Novant Health infectious disease expert Dr. David Priest told reporters Tuesday.

That’s because vaccine supply is outpacing demand in North Carolina, and health experts worry vaccination rates could slow as local COVID-19 trends like hospitalizations show slight signs of moving in the wrong direction.

Coronavirus trends in North Carolina as a whole are relatively stable, Cooper said Wednesday, but he would like to see trends move in the right direction.

But COVID-19 hospitalizations in Mecklenburg, which had fallen during January, February and March, began rising again in April.

And Mecklenburg County still lags behind the state’s overall vaccination rate.

As of Tuesday, 36.3% of Mecklenburg County residents are partially vaccinated and 23.8% are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to state Department of Health and Human Services.

Statewide, 38.4% of residents are partially vaccinated and 30.5% are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.

This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 2:18 PM.