New rules for Kansas City restaurants: Sanitizing menus, wearing masks, no buffets
Groups of people dining inside Kansas City’s newly reopened restaurants starting Friday must stay six feet from the next party over, and when they leave, staff must sanitize their menus, tables and chairs before the next party can be seated, under rules Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Monday.
In addition, employees must wear masks in public portions of the restaurants, and patrons are encouraged to do so until they are seated at a table. Bar seating and buffet service are prohibited.
The rules take effect on Friday and will remain in place through at least May 31.
“What this does not mean is that because the stay-at-home order as we knew it will have expired that everybody should just go out and have the biggest party and have the greatest time ever and just hang out with 200 of your best friends,” Lucas said in a press conference at City Hall on Monday.
Even with the precautions, Lucas discouraged residents from taking unnecessary trips. He said he hadn’t been to a “large retail store … for probably the entirety of this order.”
“If I had my real druthers and lived in a world that was just about Quinton Lucas rather than everybody else, we probably wouldn’t be here today even talking about reopening,” Lucas said, “but I also understand that Kansas City is not on an island.”
The reopening comes even as Kansas City sees a spike in new coronavirus infections. Last month, Lucas announced the reopening rules for nonessential retailers, saying the number of new virus cases had dropped and attributed that success to stay-at-home orders in place across the metro for weeks.
That’s no longer the case.
Last week saw the largest number of new infections — 154 — in Kansas City since the pandemic began. The last week of April saw 98 cases, a jump of about 33% from the week before that. Many of the new cases reported last week can be attributed to the outbreak at a St. Joseph food plant, according to the Kansas City Health Department. About 60 of the employees who tested positive live in Kansas City.
“The gravest threat that we see during this phase is that there is broad community spread, and we don’t know where those cases are coming from,” Lucas said. “Right now, we don’t believe that to be the case in Kansas City, so that’s why we thought we could continue to proceed on our plan of a responsible, somewhat soft reopening in Kansas City.”
Rules for restaurants
Kansas City has barred restaurants from serving dine-in customers since mid-March under emergency orders meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. That was even before the city issued its stay-at-home order shuttering nonessential businesses. Now, restaurants and bars can reopen Friday so long as they take the new precautions.
In a notice to its members Sunday night that was obtained by The Star, the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association said it had worked with Lucas to ensure restaurants were subject to a social-distancing requirement rather than a limit on their capacity.
Under the new rules, tables must be spaced 10 feet apart and/or parties must be seated six feet apart — “as measured from back of chair to back of chair.” Workers and patrons who are exhibiting coronavirus symptoms must be turned away.
Frequently touched surfaces, such as door handles, must be sanitized every 90 minutes, and restaurants are also encouraged to use throwaway menus.
Restaurants are also “strongly encouraged” to maintain records of all customers who spend more than 10 minutes in the establishment. That way, in the event of an outbreak, contact tracers can identify people who may have been exposed to coronavirus.
The rules for restaurants come after the group pushed back against Lucas’ previously announced “10/10/10” rules, which limit nonessential businesses to 10% of their normal operating capacity or 10 people inside — whatever is greater.
At the time, Bill Teel, the group’s executive director, said restaurants would lose money if they reopen their dining rooms under those restrictions.
After Lucas’ press conference Monday, Teel said he thought the new order “struck a good balance between safety for the community and reopening the economy.” Being able to open their dining rooms, he said, would help restaurants, which have been limited to takeout orders for weeks.
“Some of them are getting by, but it’s a struggle, particularly if you’ve got a restaurant that’s maybe 75% (or) 80% of their businesses has been dine-in service suddenly have to rely just on curbside service and delivery. It’s difficult.”
Asked about the change, Lucas said the city was most concerned about keeping space between people and avoiding crowding.
“If we keep that 10 (feet) from edge of table to edge of table, you’re allowing for that greater spacing between people,” Lucas said. “You’re allowing for waiters and waitresses to pass without bumping into people, and frankly, you can see an easier approach to enforcement in that given situation.”
Who will open?
But just because they can offer dine-in service starting Friday doesn’t mean restaurants will.
Chef Celina Tio of The Belfry in the Crossroads developed a special menu for carryout during the shutdown, keeping her five employees on the payroll. She doesn’t plan to reopen to dine-in customers until early June.
“The best thing is for people to feel comfortable and safe. I don’t feel comfortable and safe eating out,” she said. “I don’t see how it can just disappear so quickly. So I’m going to wait just a little bit longer.”
David Lopez, general manager of Manny’s Mexican Restaurant, said his doors will reopen May 18. He needs time to prepare, call his staff back and get ready for the “new normal.”
Clay and Platte counties began allowing dine-in service last week. Johnson and portions of Jackson County outside Kansas City began allowing it on Monday, with different restrictions. In Johnson County, for example, tables are limited to parties of 10 and must be kept six feet apart. Wyandotte County, which is harder hit by the pandemic, is still limiting restaurants to delivery and carryout only.
In addition to restaurants, Kansas City on Friday will also allow the reopening of bars, gyms, museums, the Kansas City Zoo, government buildings and city-maintained playground equipment. Lucas said the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department and the Kansas City Zoo would issue guidance before reopening their facilities. Bars will follow the same rules as restaurants. Gyms will follow Lucas’ “10/10/10” rules.
Lucas announced the “10/10/10” rules last month for nonessential retailers that were allowed to reopen May 6, bringing to an end that portion of his six-week stay-at-home order. He said at the time he would issue further guidance for restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses that aren’t allowed to open until Friday.
The “10/10/10” rules apply to places of worship and nonessential businesses. Religious gatherings, weddings and funerals can resume under those rules indoors or have up to 50 people outside.
The final “10” has since been relaxed. It was a requirement like the request made of restaurants — that businesses where patrons sit down and stay for more than 10 minutes maintain records of who was served to help with contact tracing. The order now says religious groups and nonessential businesses “should consider” taking such steps.
Last week, an outbreak at a Northland senior care facility apparently gave Lucas some pause about reopening bars and restaurants this week, but he reaffirmed Friday that they would reopen as planned.
When it comes time to consider easing restrictions further after May 31, Lucas said Kansas City would consider the average number of new infections each week, the city’s testing capabilities and capacity of local hospitals. But for now, it’s unclear what the guidelines for businesses and gatherings might be in June.
“There are people that call me and say, ‘Mayor Q, I’m going to have my wedding in June. Can it happen?’” Lucas said. “First answer is we don’t know.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 11:27 AM.
