FORT WORTH, Texas — Restaurants are taking added safety measures as they reopen and prepare for a busy Cinco De Mayo.
Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth would usually pack its sprawling patio for May 5, but this year they’re planning to stay below the state ordered 25% rule.
“It was real important to us to make sure we did this right,” said owner Joe Lancarte.
He didn’t make the decision to open beyond carry-out until the middle of last week.
“We kind of went back and forth on it,” he said.
For now, they’re keeping all dining outside, taking the temperature of anyone coming to eat and they're having staff wear masks.
In downtown Fort Worth, Adam Jones says combined business at his restaurants Grace and Little Red Wasp is down 90 percent.
“[I've been on] Main Street for 30 years and I’ve seen a lot of things in our town,” Jones said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Even with assistance from the Payroll Protection Program, they’re hurting. Jones plans to reopen both restaurants on Wednesday.
“There needs to be a starting point,” he said. “I think the 25 percent is a good, safe starting point.”
Grace has an occupancy of nearly 600, so, like Joe T.’s, distancing isn’t an issue.
“As soon as the governor finished talking last Monday the phone started ringing,” Jones said. “I know my client base is going to come back out.”
Not everyone is being responsible with their seating, though.
Fort Worth code enforcement has been making rounds and fielding complaints.
“Spacing is an issue,” said Elmer DePaula, Fort Worth’s assistant director of code compliance. "We have to practice what our leaders are telling us to do: social distancing, good hygienic practices.
Their goal isn’t citations, it’s education. For Cinco De Mayo, they’ll have more police and code enforcement officers on call.
“There is worry about this,” DePaula said about packed restaurants Tuesday. “Of course, there is worry because there is a disease that is in substantial transmission still.”
Everyone wants this new normal to work, but restaurant owners and city officials say it’ll take a combined effort to make it happen.
“We’re all going to come back,” Jones said. “It’s just going to take some time. We need to be patient.”