The first day of indoor dining was quiet at the historic Historic Dinner Theater Tudor House in Lake Arrowhead. Before the epidemic, 60 people sat together at the Prohibition-era restaurant for its champagne brunch. By 11 a.m. Sunday, there were only two.
“When the government says you can open up, it doesn’t matter, when people re-establish that routine,” owner John Connor said. “It will be a slow process for people to get their big-boy pants.”
On Sunday, San Bernardino and Orange Counties went out in purple, the most restrictive on California’s color-coded reopening blueprint, which clarifies how restaurants can resume indoor dining with 25% capacity. Los Angeles County will join them on Monday for additional reopening permission.
Some businesses reported rapid rebounds.
The dining room of the popular family restaurant was criticized Sunday morning, said Virginia Ramirez, hostess of the Belgian Waffle Works at Lake Arrohead. “We’re really busy,” he said.
On social Costa Mesa, the trendy New American eateries, patrons were eager to dine indoors, said duty manager Robert Garcia.
“The business is strong right now,” he said of the tableware and consumer mess. “I can’t complain. We are lucky to have everything we need.
But other organizations said consumers are slow to return.
“Right now, even 90% of the public doesn’t know we’re open,” Connor said. He said the heavy snowfall had made warm tents impractical for restaurants in the mountain resort city and made the area attractive. But he had high hopes from April, when he hosted a mysterious theater show.
He said, “L.A. The mob owned a tudor house, so we could do a buggy seagull, gangster type theme.
However, he expressed concern that the government may reverse once again.
“Restaurant rentals can’t be yo-yo like this: hire staff, let them go, buy food, throw it away,” Connor said. “A second shutdown is a good prospect, and 25% makes no profit – but eventually you have to pay the rent.”
The counties of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino joined 10 others – Contra Costa, Sonoma, Pleasure, Mendocino, San Benito, Tuolumne, Siskio, Amador, Colusa and Mono – to move to the less restricted red reopening level. The 13 counties are home to 17.7 million Californians, meaning that by Monday when LA County will give Lilizandi, about 45% of the state’s population will be able to go inside a restaurant, visit a museum or take a yoga class indoors.
In addition to offering indoor dining, Red Tire counties are allowed to reopen shingles with a 25% capacity in movie theaters, with students from 7th to 12th grade returning to campus., Reopen the indoor gym at 10% capacity, and expand capacity restrictions to important stores and libraries. Museums, zoos and even aquariums can reopen indoor operations at 25% capacity.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner said Sunday. “It’s a great step in the right direction. The governor might have done it sooner, but this time I will step in the right direction. “
He said he had heard “huge sums” from voters about the economic hardship caused by the virus and the rules of its consequences, as well as the physical, mental and emotional stress.
But he has recently changed that temporary hope.
“The people I’ve talked to over the last few days, knowing that red tires are coming and we can do a lot more, feel more bounced in their footsteps,” he said. “I think there’s a real optimism these days that the worst days of the epidemic are behind us.”
However, some businesses said that despite the relaxation, re-opening more widely is not appropriate for them.
Heidi Grant owns 29 Palms Inn outside Joshua Tree National Park. The park was buzzing with tourists for the spring bloom, and by 10 a.m. Sunday, his phone was ringing hooks asking to dine indoors with hungry optimists.
“This morning, I’ve made at least five phone calls: ‘Word out it’s okay’ and ‘Why aren’t you doing it?'” He said. “But if you can only open at 25%, So running it is still very challenging. It still needs a lot of staff, and you still can’t do the business you once did. “
Before the crisis, hotels and restaurants employed about 65 people. Now, Grant said, they are at the bottom 10.
He said, “Since Kovid we have thought more about ourselves in Resort Sense. “We continue to serve some meals to our hotel guests, but not to the people.”
While some businesses are working to open more, some were in waiting mode, at least for a few weeks.
Amusement parks could reopen at 15% capacity, Attractions such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain, some of which have reopened for limited food and shopping events, will initially require California visitors to limit visitors. Fans – and even outdoor live performances – will be allowed to resume outdoor sports, starting April 1, although they will stick to restrictions on capacity and discount sales that vary by level.
LA County health officials – along with the health departments of Long Beach and Pasadena cities – said the red-level reopening permit will take effect Monday at 12:01 p.m.
LA County Health Officer Dr. Mantu Davis said the decision to wait until Monday was to “give businesses some time” to properly and systematically improve their operations.
The other 1 county counties – San Diego, Riverside, Sacramento, Ventura, San Joaquin in Kin, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Kings, Sutter, Yuba, Lake and Tehama – are ready to join the red orbit on Wednesday, but their corona is left. . Fixed.
“It’s great to see the spirit of hope and normalcy on the horizon re-emerge,” Range County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said Sunday.
She said while it’s great to start reopening the local economy, she’s more excited about what the next step suggests.
“Going to the red level is a major sign that hopefully we’re getting the upper hand on COVID-19,” he said. “She has been admitted to hospital. ICU bed rates are down. Thousands of people are vaccinated every day in our county. ”
That doesn’t mean the virus is gone, he noted: it would take time to vaccinate all 2.2 million Orange County residents, and spread potential, potentially dangerous forms. Measures such as masking, hand washing and removal remain crucial.
“Even if someone is vaccinated, it is really important that they continue to follow health and safety guidelines to keep themselves and those around them safer,” he said. “It’s all important to get out of that covid epidemic and keep moving forward and keep in mind and keep going.”
Times staff writers Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.
