The last legal barrier to Pennsylvania businesses lifting their occupancy restrictions came down Monday on the order of Gov. Tom Wolf.
In other words, no more need to space tables, and the building capacity returns to whatever the fire marshal says is appropriate.
But in many Erie-area businesses, change hasn t happened overnight.
On Tuesday morning, upside-down drinking glasses still sat on every other table at Dave s Diner, on North Park Row in downtown Erie. The glasses were left over from more than 14 months of occupancy restrictions.
They won t be there for long, said Lindsay Coccarelli, who manages the restaurant at 26 North Park Row.
While the economy teeters, and capacity restrictions squeeze restaurateurs, you can t stop the new places from opening in and around the Erie area.
It appears there will be a new barbecue restaurant in the region to meet the warmer weather of spring.
Skinny Nate s BBQ, 10212 John Williams Ave., Albion, is in the works and a Feb. 11 Facebook post hinted at an opening in a couple of months, assuming they don t hit any major snags. Somebody there has a goofy sense of humor because their Facebook posts are pretty hilarious. If you need a smile, give them a look see at www.facebook.com/skinnynates.