Under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan, restaurant dining rooms in Illinois are required to stay closed until June 26 at the earliest, but some restaurant owners have decided to open up anyway.
All four regions of the state are in Phase 3 of Pritzker’s five-phase reopening plan. Illinois restaurants can offer outdoor seating, but dining rooms must stay closed until June 26 at the earliest.
The owner and operator of the Pizza Ranch has decided today to offer dine-in service.
The McLean County Health Department is aware of that, too.
Reminder: The governor’s phases are guidance, not law and they are not food safety regulations.
The Illinois Restaurant Association has been lobbying the governor for an earlier opening. On its website, the association said the governor’s approach “underestimates the industry’s ability to reopen and operate safely with enhanced public health measures in place.”
The restaurant has taken safety steps. Among them are a sign on the door urging customers who are ill to not enter; temperature checks of employees so those with a fever are not allowed to work; employees wearing masks and gloves; separate entrance and exit doors; tape on the floor so customers remain six feet apart; hand sanitizer, gloves and masks available for customers; individually wrapped silverware, salt and pepper containers for customers; separating tables six feet apart and closing off every second booth; disinfecting and sanitizing tables and chairs between customers; and frequently cleaning bathrooms and buffet tables.
The topic of dine-in service is a hot one nationwide. A number of states, including Texas, Iowa, Missouri and Indiana, have already given the go-ahead for dine-in service at limited capacities. Others, including Michigan and California, say that point is weeks away.
