STATE COLLEGE, Pa — Downtown restaurants and bars have started to resume their normal business practices after modifying them due to the global pandemic. The area has had several businesses close after not being able to operate during the peak last year.=
Each local bar had to limit their seating capacity, shorten their hours of operations as well as other rules, just to stay in business. Local Whiskey bartender Luis Cruz-Esquires explained that these rules prevented locals and regulars from going to his restaurant.
“Back in March 16th, when we got laid off, it was a hard impact on everybody because I mean we do this every day, you know close at 2 in the morning so when covid restrictions came along we ended up closing at 11 o’clock,” said Cruz-Esquires. “People were only allowed to get alcohol if they had food in front of them.”
Cruz-Esquires believes that most of the bar’s revenue came from pick-up orders. Other bars had a different system entirely. Mark Long, a bartender at Bill Pickle’s Tap Room recalls how his place of employment handled the capacity restrictions.
“It was strange,” said Long. “We went down to two-hour time limits at Pickles, so we had people in, you could come in, sit and chill for two hours on our bit busy nights on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays the two-hour time limit which was a little strange, but you could come back!”
Long also admitted that he enjoyed being able to leave work early for once in his life. He has been bartending at Pickles for years. During COVID-19’s peak last year, the normally busy hours were extremely slow.
Baby’s restaurant is for lease.
Several popular restaurants including Baby’s, Bar Bleu, Z Bar, and more now have large “For Lease” signs in their front windows. Hibachi Express, Auntie Annes, Yallah Taco, and more are the new restaurants that have recently opened downtown.
The State College area still has a mask mandate, but it is nowhere near as strict as the previous year’s restrictions. Overall, each business has its own way to handle the challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now back to business as usual.