WASHINGTON — As COVID cases continue to surge across the D.C. region, a few local restaurants and bars are making decisions to protect their staff and customers.
On Saturday, Sonny’s Pizza in D.C.’s Park View neighborhood, on Georgia Avenue NW, announced it would not seat any of its customers indoors this weekend due to the area’s recent spike in COVID cases.
Instead, customers are being asked to either order carryout or eat in the business’ outdoor patio.
Server Pete Wallace said, so far, all the business’ customers have been receptive to the change. He added the COVID surge is just another thing for local businesses to adapt to.
“You’re constantly updating expectations,” he said. “That’s just the world we’ve come to live in. So, would I like it to be different? Absolutely. But safety is definitely first priority here.”
That’s not the only business changing its practices due to COVID.
In Northeast D.C., both Mozzeria and Maketto, on H Street NE, posted to social media that they have suspended indoor dining. They have asked their customers to order takeout or delivery instead.
“Out of abundance of caution to our staff and guests we will be offering to-go only for the rest of the year,” wrote Maketto owner Erik Bruner-Yang.
There were still plenty of people out enjoying the nightlife in D.C. neighborhoods Saturday. Some people, however, said they were going to take as many precautions as possible to ensure their safety during the current surge.
D.C. resident Sasha Clayton-Schapiro said he just learned of two people in his social circle who had tested positive for COVID on Saturday.
“It’s like everybody’s talking about it,” he said. “It feels like March 2020 again, where it’s all around. You don’t know where it is.”