TALLAHASEE, Fla.(WTXL) — Many restaurants are having to keep adjusting as business owners handle the fallback of COVID-19 cases.
And sadly, some have closed altogether.
"There's no reason for people to be going out and putting other people at risk. Especially when people are so vehemently against wearing masks," said Audrienne Schifflette.
"I've dined in when it's outdoor seating and no one is around and I have my mask on," said Joshua Weitz.
Safety and sanitation is on the menu for many restaurants.
Under phase 2 of Florida's reopening, restaurants can welcome people in at half capacity.
But at Masa managers felt that wasn't cautious enough.
They decided to shut down dining in last week.
"It was a tough decision we had. Not only balancing the businesses best interest but also our staff and community. The best decision doesn't always intersect but we tried to make the best decision we could," said Hunter Beggarly, the manager at Masa.
But Leon county's mask mandate also played a role in the restaurants decision to scale back to take out only.
"They has the mandate to wear. People were pushing back on wearing it. So we said until we can figure out the proper safety protocols, figure out how to deal with customers that don't want to wear a mask, were just going to go back to take out," said Hunter Beggarly.
"I always do take out if I'm going anywhere. It's just the safest option right now.
people more cautious about stepping foot inside a restaurant also applauding the transparency displayed by some business owners," said Weitz.
"If they shut down, that actually makes me trust them more because they're taking the necessary precautions," said Tiffany Vaughn.
Now many restaurants are openly discussing when COVID-19 makes it to their business.
From munchies to Georgio's to Bella Bella, the restaurants have been up front about an employee testing positive before shutting down and vowing to deep clean.
"For me what I really appreciate is going to places and seeing the being really careful like even the cooks are wearing masks," said Vaughn.
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation ordered bars to go back to take-out alcohol only after the uptick and receiving complaints that many places weren't following re-opening guidelines.
You can now only drink inside bars where alcohol sales make up for less than fifty percent of their revenue.
