Napa County restaurants reopen for dine-in customers

NAPA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer.

This year, the holiday coincides with Napa County reopening restaurants for dine-in service amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More people were out and about Friday night in downtown Napa.

Restaurants who decided to open their doors during this expanded Phase 2 had a laundry list to check off before reopening.

At Downtown Joe’s in Napa, it’s not just the menu patrons will read. The restaurant posted its COVID-19 site plan and the rules of entry at the door.

The first thing you see is a hand sanitizer station.

Co-owner Natalie Tobler says there were a lot of phone calls when Napa County officials announced restaurants can serve dine-in customers early this week.

Staff had to move things around to make sure people are dining at a distance.

“We’ve probably taken out probably half of our tables off our patio from what we normally had before, and same thing our bar is basically empty from tables and bar stools,” she said.

At the bar, a glimpse of the new normal for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been a little hectic, people are just ready, they give us phone calls, they come down,” she said.

Other restaurants in the county that KRON4 spoke to said they are not quite ready to reopen their dining rooms just yet, due to getting back furloughed staff and also just being extra cautious about spreading the virus and sticking to curbside pickup.