KC restaurants open to dine-in customers after COVID-19 shutdown. How different is it?

Under dark and cloudy skies, some Kansas City restaurants were open for dine-in business Friday. But it had the feel of a soft opening, with smaller crowds, some confusion among customers about what was allowed and many restaurants not quite ready to take the next step with customers.

It was a new world where some diners jumped at the chance to embrace the familiar — but under very different circumstances with masks, social distancing and hand sanitizers.

Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue on the Country Club Plaza has new Plexiglas partitions at its hostess stand, and customers are not allowed to wait in the lobby. Over lunch, it kept steady with about six diners at a time.

As a stream of cars lined up for curbside orders outside, Lynn “Cowboy” Day was among the first to dine in. He ordered one of his favorites meals — the “mandatory” jumbo beef sandwich and potato salad. Like many Plaza customers, Day wasn’t wearing a mask and said he wasn’t concerned.

“I’m kind of a face-to-face person. I like the human contact,” Day said. “When I heard Mayor Quinton Lucas say dining rooms were reopening, I made my plans. I wanted to get out and see what’s up. I may go out again tonight.”

During the shutdown, Kristen Jones has been ordering Jack Stack for carryout about once a week: “I wanted to come out and sit down and eat some good chicken,” adding that the spacing between customers in the dining room “feels weird a little bit. But it’s cool.”

On State Line Road in south Kansas City, t.Loft was open early for breakfast.

The location messaged in advance to customers on its website: “We are still practicing social distancing so available tables will be spaced at least 6 feet apart. To ensure your safety and the safety of the staff, all staff members will wear face masks and gloves and adhere to a strict sanitation schedule.”

But owner Stacy Plamondon said customers on Friday appeared a little confused. The location doesn’t see a lot of dine-in customers regularly, but she said customers ordering curbside during the shutdown were wanting to come in. On Friday, they weren’t sure of the protocol.

Plamondon said she remains concerned about local small businesses in Kansas City.

“I’m local,” she said. “I’m just a girl trying to live a dream of being an entrepreneur.”

At Winstead’s near the Country Club Plaza, manager Sarah Hibbert said she usually has 12 people working the morning shift. Friday, she had six on location. They were wearing masks, and condiments were removed from tables so they didn’t need to be constantly cleaned. Menus were available upon request.

Hibbert said she was seeing more customers than expected. A couple of tables were filled, but drive-thru was taking the bulk of business.

Peter and Jill Castillo, who live in the neighborhood, wanted to take advantage of the opening after staying at home regularly during the shutdown. They are once-a-week Winstead’s regulars, sometimes with their grandchildren.

Ever since the shutdown, they’ve been eating in their cars “like teenagers.” But Peter Castillo added: “Today my wife said she heard we had a date at Winstead’s.”

Employee Judy Eddingfield, who celebrated her 55th anniversary with Winstead’s and 71st birthday during the shutdown, said she missed celebrating those milestones with her regulars.

In South Plaza, locally owned Duck & Roll, an offshoot of the popular Banksia, was prepping Friday to open for the first time. The restaurant originally planned to open March 23.

Banksia CEO Robert Joseph said he plans to have more tables outside on better weather days.

Several area restaurants remained closed to dine-in due to the capacity limits, including Westport’s Beer Kitchen and Corner Restaurant. Corner Restaurant will use the downtime to clean out its basement and for repairs to the building.

Westport Cafe plans to reopen in early June for take-out only and then for dine-in in mid-June. Mickey’s Hideaway plans to open Saturday.

Jacobson’s in the Crossroads is “taking a wait and see” approach while doing some remodeling.

“We’re evaluating it with the reduction in capacity with our style,” said partner Pat Phelan. “If we can get back to some normalcy by mid-summer, we will probably reopen.”

He added, “We are working on making the space safer for everybody.”

In the Plaza, The Cheesecake Factory is doing take-out and delivery and plans to reopen its dining room on May 28th. Cooper’s Hawk Winery said it won’t open until at least late May.

Chris Ridler said his Red Bridge Barrio was getting “slammed” with calls wanting to know what time it would open Friday. He also opened Brookside Barrio and Zocalo restaurant on the Plaza on Friday.

“I’m so excited I woke up at 3:30 a.m.,” he said. “I can’t wait to see people. It feels like opening day.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 3:32 PM.