Fragrant baskets of grilled kebabs were served on wood tables freshly scrubbed with Lysol.
Diners were offered hand sanitizer and asked to keep their masks on when not eating or drinking. The waiter wore a mask too.
The dining room at Addy’s Barbeque in Astoria, Queens, showed signs of life again after indoor dining returned at limited capacity in New York City on Feb. 12, following a two-month shutdown amid a second wave of the coronavirus.
“At least something is better than nothing,” said Syed Hussain, 54, the restaurant’s owner. “What we were going through was nothing.”
The shutdown, the second time in the past year that the state had barred indoor dining in a city known around the world for its restaurants, was a blow to an industry that has been decimated by the pandemic.