I think reservations only is the way to go. Certainly I see it happening in the UK where we do not have a “wait in line” culture for restaurants. Not only is it obviously safer in respect of tracing but it seems to me to be the only way many restaurants will be able to accommodate physical distancing with reduced numbers. Effectively, I expect to see more restaurants going to two sittings, say 6.30 and 8.30, to allow for more throughput each night. The “table is yours for the evening” which is currently commonplace will probably become the preserve of high end places.
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Agree. Whether we want to accept this fact or not, at this time dining inside restaurants reintroduces an opportunity for spread. People simply can’t eat while wearing their masks, which punches a hole in even the most careful sanitizing regimen.
If you are in a locale with extensive community spread, the odds that you will encounter someone who is infectious are not at all on your side. Alas.
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The other problem is that now studies are showing that more time exposed is much worse.
Speed eating?
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I can tell you the one place we definitely won’t be frequenting: https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-restaurant-persists-in-defying-governors-stay-home-order
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@tomatotomato
Living in the great state of Michigan, where the “resistance movement” is so healthy, I’m more than a bit alarmed by the locos that have seemed to gain the High Ground on anyone calling for caution. Telling the wrong person: “This is not going to end well” will probably get you spit on. Or, worse.
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Rise 'n Shine in Asheville not only has lousy food and service, their owner is a member of the “Reopen NC” movement and has been actively recruiting people from outside our city to dine in, in violation of state order. The owner also says those wearing masks have “mental illness” and don’t know who they are. 
You know who we aren’t? Super-spreaders.
We’re boycotting Rise 'n Shine.
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At least the gym in NJ that reopened is limiting occupancy, mandating masks, shutting down machines to enforce social distancing and insisting every patron carry a bottle of disinfectant (provided by the gym) to wipe down machines after each use.
No masks, gloves or sanitizers? Just crazy 
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I’m with you. Scary behavior indeed.
Yeah, I’d aim to steer clear of those who can’t be convinced because we like having you around this place.
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France opened schools last week. That lasted a week. A spike in infections contact traced to primary schools shut them down again. @naf - do I have this right?
My wife and I will stay home, hunkered down even more, and let the early adopters take the risk. It does not seem well advised to me.
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About 70 schools (among 40 000) closed again due to some suspected or confirmed cases in staff, students etc. As for red zone (more infected cases), the mayor decides if school in his city will open or not.
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NC doesn’t have a monopoly on this.
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Good they should be arrested.
If you think they are brain addled for contravening the stay-at-home order they should be arrested.
If you think that stay-at-home orders are government overreach I’ll remind you of the words of Martin Luther King Jr: “If in an act of civil disobedience you don’t get arrested, you’re doing it wrong.”
So regardless of your beliefs on the matters of COVID-19 restrictions, the protestors should be arrested. Everyone wins. Now let’s see what happens.
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https://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/Default.aspx
A very depressing read. The Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) estimates as many as 80% of independent restaurants won’t survive the current crisis. Some cannot transition to delivery/take-out, and even those that can won’t generate enough revenue to stay afloat. And then even after they are allowed to reopen, with social distancing they can only operate at 25-33% capacity; again, not enough to stay afloat.
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On the bright side, this may be the end of restaurants cramming tables so close together that you can’t get to your seat without disturbing diners at the adjacent tables and then hearing their conversations as well as you can hear your own 
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This gets my vote for the most positive restaurant outcome of the crisis. The worst I recall was being next to the four-top of business colleagues where three of them, and us, had to listen for a full hour to the fourth man pontificating about the new fucking spreadsheet he’d designed. I can only presume he must have been the boss (or was paying for dinner), otherwise the other three would have dragged him outside to kick the shit out of him.
I agree that there will be many casualties here, but it may not be as bad as we all fear. A goodly number of places that I visit will be able to reduce the number of tables, particularly with the judicious use of perspex screening. Add into that a requirement for 100% reservations based on, say, two sittings (broadly speaking) and it will not be too much of a reduction in bums on seats.
It will badly effect small places where table reductions isnt practical. And it’s likely to badly effect chain restaurants which rely on high volume throughput for their small margin profits.
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I know, I know, but this was at least interesting:
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I can see Jenkinson’s filling the beach with these
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Having looked through the threads on this section of the site, I think this is the best place to drop this one… I’m NOT going to publicly name names (but trust me, there are far more than I like), but I’ve seen many social media posts from restaurants showing their teams cooking/prepping (both food and to-go containers) and the employees aren’t wearing gloves, let alone masks. I don’t know SafeServ guidelines, but I would have thought gloves would be the minimum requirement. I don’t think I’m naive about what goes on in restaurant kitchens, but right now I’d like to at least THINK they’re trying. Really makes me think hard about getting takeout (which I’m not doing much of anyway), let alone when I’d be willing to go back to dining in. Thoughts?
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I admit I don’t do social media, but the photos/videos I’ve seen in my area show workers masked and gloved, and those packaging/delivering carrying holsters of sanitizer. I do question how often those gloves get changed.
PA liquor laws/stores being what they are, I have given up trying to order from them. I now order from local distilleries. It’s fascinating. Early on in the shutdown, I paid cash. The delivery person wore a mask and gloves and knocked from the porch but didn’t open the door (apparently I am visibly over 21 
I would open the door to deliver the cash envelope. I would watch as (s)he sprayed down the money envelope and I brought in the bottles damp with sanitizer. Now I pay/tip by card, answer the knock with the delivery person halfway down the walk and bring in bottles drenched in sanitizer.
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BOH has always been Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. At the time I sold my business gloves were suggested but not required by the Monmouth County Health Department (the inspector was one of our regulars). I actually think people are more cognizant of washing when they don’t wear gloves than when they do. Masks, in this day and age, are a different story and I definitely think they should be worn.
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