Indoor dining remains on hold as reopening scope widens across different industries

Over the past few weeks the state of California has started to loosen restrictions on various sectors that were not permitted before. Restaurants, however, have remained stagnant while only operating outdoors and for takeout. In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the stay-at-home order, thrusting the state back into the tier system. That allowed restaurants to operate outdoors again after having been closed for weeks.

More than a month later, the state has started to loosen its grip on several sectors, which includes allowing live music, and even theme parks to open up at limited capacity.

Last week state officials announced that starting April 1, theme parks could operate at 15 percent capacity once it reaches the red tier. Guidelines were also changed to allow outdoor spectator sports, such as MIB baseball, at 20 percent capacity.

Moderate and high-contact youth and adult sports were also given the green light last week in Riverside County.

Many restaurant workers are now waiting to see when it will be their time to open business back up, even if that means at a limited capacity indoors.

Currently Riverside County resides in the most restrictive purple tier. In order for a county to advance to a less restrictive tier it must meet certain metrics and "meet criteria for movement to the next less restrictive for the prior two consecutive weeks in order to progress to the next tier."

"I’m born ready, it’s against my religion to close," said Alex Raei, La Bonita's Mexican Restaurant owner.

Raei has an indoor dining area that could seat 50 people. At the start of the pandemic he had just acquired an expansion to his restaurant, but he didn't have the chance to use it.

The restaurant is currently only operating outdoors and for takeout, but Raei is anxiously waiting to allow indoor seating. He already has a plan to "put it back normal, put the chairs back, the tables back, like nothing happened."

As of Monday, Riverside County metrics continued on a downward trend.

"Our numbers are heading in the right direction, which is always good," said Riverside County Department of Public Health spokesperson, Jose Arballo.

Arballo said the county's metrics for both the positivity rate and the health equity positivity rate were both meeting red tier eligibility. The health equity tier, which the state adopted in October, aims to "ensure that the test positivity rates in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods, referred to as the Health Equity Quartile of the Healthy Places Index census tracts, do not significantly lag behind its overall county test positivity rate," according to the California Department of Public Health.

However, Arballo said the adjusted case rate "is still where we need to come down."

On Monday that number was reported at 11.3 per 100,000. The number needs to dip down between 4 and 7. All three metrics will then need to meed red tier criteria for a minimum of 2 weeks before Riverside County can move up the ladder. Numbers would also have to stick in order to maintain red tier eligibility.

Every Tuesday numbers are updated. Arballo was confident the latest adjusted case rate numbers would continue on a downward trend.

Under the red tier, restaurants would also be able to operate indoors with limited capacity.

"Honestly if it was up to us, we wouldn’t even open the indoors," said Azucar general manager, Laura Slipak.

While some restaurant staff is anxiously waiting, it's quite the opposite for the Palm Springs hotel restaurant.

"We would be ready for it. Do we want to go forward with it? Possibly not. We actually had success even last summer when it was 115 degrees out, people wanted to eat outdoors."

Slipak said they've reinvented their outdoor dining by placing some of the indoor tables around the pool, which they only did in the past for private parties. The restaurant also has a rooftop dining area equipped with umbrellas and a view.

"It’s amazing. We do have a beautiful area. We don’t have to put tables in the parking lot or in the street. What we do is we just cut back on the table upstairs and we just put the tables 6 feet apart," said Slipak.