Back to business? Local restaurants navigate new state regulations

When the state of Colorado issued its Safer at Home” guidelines allowing in-person dining at restaurants last week, Edward Vanegas was thrilled. He immediately went to the Next Door app to tell his Gunbarrel neighbors that his popular bistro Aperitivo and its "resort-like" patio would be open for dine-in service on Wednesday, May 27. However, his pronouncement would turn out to be only half-true, as bringing his small indoor space into compliance with the new regulations took more work than he anticipated.

"I had to quickly go back and say 'Well that didn't work'," he said. "We wanted to start with a clean slate. We had to reconstruct the dining room, figure out spacing for all of that-how far tables could be with the occupancy-and then completely do a deep cleaning, which took a couple of days."

That ended up delaying the start of Aperitivo's indoor dining by nearly a week, but Vanegas was sanguine about the hiccup. With three times as much outdoor as indoor space, he feels that Aperitivo is well-suited to take advantage of the state rules that give preference to the latter over the former, and the steady stream of patio diners bears him out. To that end, he's added new umbrellas and a fire pit to the space, and hopes to add live music in the coming weeks.

"We've been nimble enough over the past 10 weeks, and we're nimble enough now that we can use our patio in a cool way," he said.

Delays like Aperitivo's are just one of the challenges restaurant owners are confronting as they scramble to reopen to in-person guests. For now, state guidelines mandate strict distancing between tables, prohibit seating at the bar, and cap indoor dining capacity at 50 percent of posted occupancy. For many local proprietors, surviving on this reduced volume for more than a few weeks could be a struggle.

"You see Home Depot and it's packed, and yet for restaurants, they're putting all of these restrictions in place," said Annie Vick, owner of Pinocchio’s Incredible Italian in Niwot. "So everyone is wondering why there is a double-standard. It's not that hard to seat every other table, but it's going to limit our ability to survive."

Vick reopened the indoor dining rooms at all eight of her Pinocchio's locations on May 28, but blocked off tables to meet the spacing requirements rather than removing them. The staff has been using an enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocol, so didn't have to go to any extraordinary measures. "We were anxiously waiting, so we were prepared."

Vick also reported a steady stream of customers returning to her restaurants, seeming on a quest for more normalcy.

"It's interesting to see in different locations," she said. "At our Highway 52 location, people are flocking back. "

While "flocking" might not be the best word to describe their Niwot traffic, she said the community has been very supportive during the pandemic.

"People have bought gift cards and supported us in other ways, and we really feel that. But a plant needs enough water to survive," she said.

The capacity limit was also among the top concerns for Stacy Szydlek, co-owner of Niwot Tavern. Last week, she and her partner announced to their customers that the 15-year-old Cottonwood Square eatery would be sticking with its successful takeout model until restrictions are further eased.

"We would love to reopen, but under 50 percent capacity, it just doesn't make sense," she said. "We want to provide a good experience for our customers, and I don't feel like we can do that right now with the guidelines in place."

Szydlek also cited the health and safety of her customers and employees as a key factor in the decision, as was the indoor masking requirement. She said the face coverings are awkward for both staff and customers alike, and have the potential to put the two sides at odds.

"If this is the new normal and this is what we have to do, then obviously we'll have to do that. But we want people to be aware already. I don't want to be the one policing people and telling people what to do. That's not what I signed up for. I've been a bartender my whole life-I am not the cops."

As of now, Szydlek and her partner are tentatively planning to reopen for in-person dining on July 1, the day after Boulder County's mask requirement is set to end. Meanwhile, the Tavern is still open for takeout orders and continues to run the free pantry for families running low on food at home.

At The Motherlode Café and Tavern in Gunbarrel, owner Leland Oxley hasn't had any complaints about masks in the five days they've been open to in-person dining, but he did acknowledge that his waitstaff has had to "relearn how to serve" under the new guidelines.

"The service standards, policies, and procedures across restaurants are very, very similar, but now it's all changed," he said. "You have to make sure that if you're serving, you're wearing a mask. You wear gloves when you take food to the table and then you take them off after you take food to the table. The tables are sanitized with a disinfectant after each guest, but not just the table, the seats and the door handles. So it's about training, but the staff we have has all embraced it."

Like Aperitivo, the Mother Lode benefits from a surplus of outdoor dining, including a rooftop patio, making the capacity limits less of a concern at the brand-new eatery, which officially opened less than two weeks before the lockdown orders went into effect back in March. They also instituted barriers in their indoor dining area, which Oxley said gives the space a unique look.

"It's something that we wanted to invest in to help us get through the COVID-19 crisis, but leave in place and add a nice aesthetic touch to the restaurant."

The Motherlode is still waiting on its liquor license, which was delayed during the shutdown. Meanwhile, Oxley has a partnership with Gunbarrel Brewing. Despite these challenges, Oxley is optimistic about the tavern's future.

"I feel because of what we've done here and because of the staff we have and how we've trained them, I think we're going to do really well," he said. "The people who have come in so far have enjoyed the experience and enjoyed the food. We're getting busier every day."

Vanegas is also optimistic about the future, both for Aperitivo and for the industry as a whole. But mostly, after 10 weeks of uncertainty and takeout service, he was happy to see patrons back for another summer at Aperitivo.

"People want to get out of the house and into a normal social setting," he said. "You can do these Zoom happy hours with people around the country and that is helping, but people want to see the facial expressions and hear the laughter and the questions as they sit and visit with each other in person."