America eats out. A lot! One of the things that I kinda knew but was hammered home as local groceries ran out of things was that there are TWO logistic chains – one residential and one for anything commercial. That latter part was about 40% of our food supply – and was caught right in the middle of the lockdown. But now things are starting to open up:
After weeks — and in some cases, nearly two months — of shutdowns, states across the country are beginning to allow non-essential businesses to reopen in multi-phase plans. In Texas, restaurants can reopen their dining rooms at 25 percent capacity, while diners in Alaska and New Hampshire must make reservations in advance of their meals. Some states, like Montana, have put reopening measures in place as they see cases of coronavirus flatten out; others, like Alabama, reopen even as daily case counts climb.
In all, 41 states have allowed restaurants to reopen for dine-in service of some kind, or intend to do so soon. In each state, varying degrees of social distancing measures remain in place for businesses that elect to reopen. These measures, usually described as components of a first or second reopening phase, variously maintain that restaurants must set tables six feet apart, and follow guidelines to cap dining room capacities between 25 and 50 percent. (Bars, meanwhile, are set to reopen in later phases of many state plans, if their reopening has been announced at all.)
And there is a complete list of which States are allowing what kinds of openings for their restaurants at Eater (link below). It’s clear that NH is well behind the rest of the other States in these regards. That said…
Last night was our first night out for a sit-down meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant (El Jimador in Belmont, NH). Earlier in the afternoon after TMEW’s physical therapy session for her knee, I decided to find out if they had set up any outside seating (they are in a strip mall with limited parking) – they DID! Twelve outside tables for about 50 people and when I asked, their full menu was available. Fajitas Vallartas for me, Arroz con Mariscos (scallops / shrimp) for TMEW, and The Grandson had a quesadilla. The food was great. The seating, well, they tried hard but there’s no accounting for when a bit of a wind comes up.
Other than lesson learned that The Grandson was rather distracted so high chair should have been requested, glad we went. We’ve never had a bad meal there so we will be back. And yes, they were glad to see us.
And yes, a bit of time away from the politics of the day / evening. It felt good.
Now onward to see if our favorite Chinese restaurant has persuaded their landlord has been gracious to “lend” them some parting lot space as well.
(H/T: Eater via Instapundit)
