By Loren Adams
On Friday, Sept. 25 Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that bars and restaurants are allowed to open to maximum capacity in Florida. Despite still being in a global pandemic, clubs restaurants and bars are taking pleasure in opening. Although this is good news to some, there are still some concerns.
Tangra Nightclub, a popular nightspot in Ybor City, took to social media to announce that they will be back to full capacity. In a recent post on Instagram the nightclub answered questions regarding the club’s COVID-19 restrictions. Some were pleased to hear of the opening but others were unsure about the club’s guidelines. Alex Velez, (@rican_freedom) a follower of the Tangra Nightclub, was one of those who seemed uncertain about the night clubs COVID-19 restrictions.
“From my understanding seating will no longer be a requirement,” commented Velez on Tangra’s Instagram post. “The other clubs haven’t mentioned it for this weekend or replaced it with ‘100% social distancing’. Tangra needs to be more clear.”
Although night clubs like Tangra are opening up there are local businesses that chose not to open to full capacity. Green Lemon, a restaurant and bar located in Soho is not changing current operations.
“It is important to us at Green Lemon to keep our community as well as our staff safe,” said Ryan Chapman, managing partner at Green Lemon. “We have been following the CDC guidelines from the very beginning. We want to continue to do that.”
Chapman said the establishment will not open to full capacity and will continue with how they have been operating.
“We have table spacing, outdoor seating, hand sanitizers readily available, our staff have to wear masks and be health screened. What we have here has been working out for us,” said Chapman.
While establishments like Green Lemon are not taking any chances, some are trying to have the best of both worlds.
Luv Child, another restaurant that is located in the Soho area will be opening up to maximum capacity. Fiona O’Keefe, a server at the restaurant, said they have been enforcing COVID-19 regulations and they are confident that what they have in place will be sufficient.
“We have masks, hand sanitizers, and plexiglasses on our tables so that there is some distance between our customers. I believe we have taken all the necessary precautions this far so I believe that we are prepared to cater to more people,” said O’Keefe.
