Restaurants will be required to operate under limited capacity and follow other safety guidelines.
By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen their indoor dining sections with restrictions ahead of the Labor Day weekend, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday morning.
Restaurants can allow customers indoors beginning Friday, Murphy said. The move comes about two months after Murphy pumped the brakes on allowing indoor dining after he announced it would be permitted ahead of the July Fourth weekend.
Restaurants will be required to operate under limited capacity and follow other safety guidelines.
“Restaurants statewide will be able to open for indoor dining beginning this FRIDAY at 25% capacity and with social distancing between tables,” Murphy said in a tweet. “Reopening responsibly will help us restore one of our state’s key industries while continuing to make progress against #COVID19.
Other restrictions on indoor dining mirror ones detailed when the state originally planned to allow it in early July include:
- Patrons required to wear masks unless they are eating, under the age of 2, or have a health issue.
- Staff members required to wear masks.
- Tables spaced at least 6 feet apart.
- Enhanced sanitation.
- Guests placing orders only at a table and staffers bringing food and beverages only to tables.
- Patrons barred from walking around while eating.
- Limiting seating to a maximum of 8 customers per table — unless from an immediate family or the same household
- Encouraging reservations for greater control of customer traffic.
- Requiring customers to provide a phone number if making a reservation to facilitate contact tracing.
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