During the pandemic, Societe has been serving customers outdoors and requiring them to get food from a taco truck in the parking lot. The new guidelines are giving Societe some more flexibility.
“It’s a big win for the consumer. The fact that you can just go have a beer, or a couple of tasters or a flight and you don’t need to order food I think it’s a great win,” said Constantiner.
Under the new rules, breweries, wineries and distilleries in the purple and red tiers can now serve alcohol without food, outdoor reservations are required, customers can stay for 90 minutes and drinking must stop by 8 p.m.
After laying off employees multiple times and dipping into his personal savings to keep his 10 drinking and dining venues afloat, restaurateur David Spatafore feels optimistic for the first time in a year as San Diego County awaits the green light next week for more broadly reopening the local economy.
With the COVID-19 case rate continuing to diminish, San Diego is poised to enter the less-restrictive red tier next week, which, for restaurants and gyms, means moving back inside albeit at much-reduced capacities for the first time in more than four months. Movie theaters, too, would be allowed to operate indoors, as would museums and aquariums. And retail outlets will be able to increase capacity to 50 percent.
The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic haven’t stopped for local restaurateurs. This week on our Scene in San Diego podcast, “Top Chef” alum Chef Brian Malarkey shares how he’s running his local restaurants these days – and what’s changed. Eater San Diego shares that story, plus news of new Mexican food, Thai treats, a gourmet market and scrumptious sandwiches around.