san francisco restaurants open for indoor dining on 9/30/20

Starting Wednesday, September 30, 2020, San Francisco restaurants will re-open for indoor dining operations.  Thus far, only outdoor dining operations were permitted.

According to SF Chronicle, "San Francisco moved on Tuesday into the orange tier, which reflects what’s considered a “moderate” spread among the state’s four-color blueprint for recovery. It is now able to permit restaurants to operate at 25% capacity or with 100 people — whichever is fewer."  [FN 1]

SF Gate further clarified that the 100 person limit includes restaurant staff, as well as customers dining outdoors and customers entering the building to pick up food to-go, bringing customer totals far lower than expected.  According to SF Gate, there will also be no seating at bar counters or any other areas where diners are within six feet of food prep; dining time is limited to two hours for customers; and entertainment will also not be permitted, such as performances and TV watching.  [FN 2]

Eater cautions San Franciscans that per Governor Gavin Newsom, California is already showing signs of a new wave of COVID-19 infections, "with the virus 'reproduction number' (a measurement of how many people an infected person spreads the virus to) going up."  Quoting Mayor London Breed, Eater reminds San Franciscans to follow pubic health guidelines, including wearing masks and staying six feet apart.  [FN 3]

Footnotes:

1. See https://www.sfchronicle.com/coronavirus/article/S-F-readies-reopening-indoor-dining-Wednesday-15606701.php
2. See https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/San-Francisco-indoor-outdoor-dining-guidelines-15599549.php
3. See https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/29/21494180/san-francisco-restaurant-dining-rooms-reopening-coronavirus-covid-19-orange

Smith Shapourian Mignano PC is available to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding reopening your business in light of Covid-19. 

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