Why waiters don't always wear masks
Why waiters don't always wear masks
Plus: State officials say Covid numbers heading wrong direction; Mecklenburg ballfields to reopen; S.C. reopens bowling alleys; RNC departure brings big smile to face of police chief
As Charlotte restaurants reopen, state sets minimum requirements; Muffled communication in the heat
As restaurants reopen, servers are not required to wear masks, although many of them do. At The Porter’s House in Waverly on Friday, waiters and waitresses wore masks, and the restaurant has expanded its outside seating by closing a street to traffic and putting tables in the street.
By Kathleen Purvis
Restaurants are beginning to reopen their doors. But what you’ll find inside still looks very different than it used to: Shields in front of cash registers, taped-off areas and a whole lot fewer tables are just the start.
What you might not see: Waiters wearing masks.
Under Executive Order No. 141, issued by Gov. Roy Cooper on May 20 and effective until June 26 (unless another order replaces it), there are two sets of guides for food businesses. The first set are requirements — the things restaurants have to do. The second are recommendations — the things the state would like to them to do.
One of the most confusing points in the executive order, particularly for members of the public: Wearing a mask — AKA, “personal protection equipment,” or PPE — isn’t a requirement, for servers or for cooks. It’s a recommendation. Because some people have religious, behavioral or health issues with covering their faces, the state doesn’t require it.
“So you’re going to see restaurants with staff not wearing masks,” says Kris Reid, the executive director of the Piedmont Culinary Guild, an organization for chefs, farmers and food producers.
Still, Reid hopes you do see masks, even in the kitchen, because it’s the right thing to do.
“By and large, professional culinarians are serious about taking care of their staff,” Reid says. “And hopefully, those are the places you’ll patronize. It speaks a lot to the integrity of the owners that they’re not required to wear it but they are.”
Kitchen culture: For restaurant workers, wearing a mask for a whole shift is hard — and not just because kitchens are hot.
“The reality of the kitchen culture is that you have to communicate and it muffles your communication. There’s the heat — patio dining is starting right now. That’s hard (for servers). But it’s a precaution that needs to be taken.”
Another point of confusion for customers is which government agency is responsible for making sure restaurants follow the requirements: It’s not the Mecklenburg County Health Department, which handles restaurant inspections and enforces the N.C. food code.
Enforcing the executive order falls to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
Brandon Hunter, public service coordinator for CMPD, said the department has designated a few officers to handle complaints, which can come through the CMPD website or by calling 311. At a news conference Friday, county health director Gibbie Harris said she was not aware of any citations to restaurants and said police “have been pretty tied up with other things over the last week or so and have had limited capacity to enforce some of the restrictions.”
Stephen Graham, the environmental health program manager for the health department, says the department is back at work inspecting restaurants, and it has helped restaurants figure out what they need to do to reopen safely. (Restaurant inspections are posted online.)
The health department has offered simplified versions of the guidelines in the executive order to restaurants, and it’s working with several grounds to offer a voluntary training program, “Count on Me NC.” Restaurants that go through the training get a sticker they can post on a door or window.
So what are restaurants required to do?
Provide at least 6 feet of separation between parties indoors and outdoors and at counters. (People sitting together at a table don’t need to be 6 feet apart, and wait staff aren’t required to be 6 feet away.)
Limit the number of customers to no more than 50% of the fire capacity of the building. If there is no fire occupancy limit, it’s no more than 12 people per 1,000 feet.
Post the Emergency Maximum Capacity — the number of people allowed — in a noticeable place.
Mark 6 feet of spacing in high traffic areas, such as at cash registers or places where customers wait to be seated.
Increase disinfection during peak times and disinfect all shared objects (including receipt trays, condiment holders and reusable menus) between each use.
Promote frequent use of hand washing or sanitizing by the staff.
Screen the staff daily for symptoms of Covid-19.
Everything else is a recommendation, including allowing no more than 10 people at a table unless they’re members of the same household; providing hand sanitizer at the entrance; installing physical barriers such as sneeze guards or partitions; using rolled utensils instead of pre-setting tables; wearing face coverings and providing them for employees and customers.
Paying attention: It is confusing, Kris Reid admits. But it’s also up to customers to pay attention to what the employees inside a restaurant are doing and let that guide their choices on what businesses to support.
“If you’re a mindful operator, you’ll take those recommendations,” she says. “Any operator that’s not doing that, they’re operating in a dangerous way.
“Just because it isn’t required doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it.”
Kathleen Purvis is a longtime journalist who covers food in Charlotte and around the South.
Uh-oh: Covid numbers heading the wrong way, state says
North Carolina’s top health official says the coronavirus numbers the state is tracking are heading the wrong direction, with increases in daily confirmed cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests over the last two or three weeks.
“Those tell us in combination that we are seeing more virus in our communities,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, in a news conference on Friday. “We knew that when we reopened and we move around more, that the virus will move around more as well.”
She described the numbers as an increase and in replies to reporters’ questions declined to characterize them as a spike or surge or the start of a second wave. The state still has adequate hospital beds and has been increasing testing and contract tracing.
Gov. Roy Cooper said: “Those numbers and trends are sobering.” But he said he has made no decisions about the next stage of reopening, which could allow businesses such as movie theaters, bowling alleys, gyms and yoga studios to reopen, and perhaps increase the number of people allowed in restaurants and in big gatherings. The existing executive order on reopenings runs through June 26.
The state does not seem to be considering re-imposing restrictions or closing down businesses again.
What you can do: Officials said the numbers underscore the need for residents to wear face coverings, wash their hands and stay six feet apart.
“Our numbers aren’t where we want them to be, but it doesn’t have to stay that way,” Cooper said. “It’s going to take all of us doing our part.” —TM
Review the latest state Covid figures on the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services website.
Review the latest Mecklenburg Covid figures on the county’s website.
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‘Big smile’ from police chief on RNC departure
On WBT radio on Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney was asked by host Bo Thompson what he thought about the Republican National Convention moving to Jacksonville, Fla.
Putney stayed on as chief to oversee security for what was envisioned as a massive weeklong convention, and his department has more recently dealt with waves of sometimes-violent protests. He replied:
Bo, I’m glad we’re on the radio. You can’t see me smiling. It’s a pretty big smile. I don’t want a meme of that showing. So I’m glad, again, we’re on the radio.
He added that Charlotte would help Jacksonville however it can and that the city will ensure that whatever remnants of the convention held here will be safe.
Asked how the departure of the RNC would affect his planned retirement, Putney said: “Very good question, Bo. We’ll see what happens.”
He also said that protests the previous three or four nights have been “relatively peaceful.” —TM
This week’s original Ledger articles
It’s the weekend. Why not catch up on what you might have missed this week in The Ledger?
“Want to hit the pool? Make an appointment.” Residents who want to head to the neighborhood pool this summer are encountering a potential roadblock: Many pools are requiring reservations to maintain social distancing. The policy is upsetting some neighbors who have gotten shut out. “It’s like getting concert tickets,” one resident told us.
“When you buy your house online.” During the quarantine, real estate agents were largely unable to show houses — but some eager buyers put down offers after checking out properties on FaceTime or Zoom. “It was definitely a little odd,” said a Charlotte dental hygienist who bought a house in Huntersville, sight unseen, with her fiancé.
“Liquor store sales brisk for third straight month.” Sales at ABC stores are remaining as strong as your gin-and-tonic, though sales to restaurants were only 1/10th of what they were in May 2019.
“Big Ballantyne development approved.” The City Council approved a 454-acre rezoning request that will allow Northwood Office to build its “Ballantyne Reimagined” project, which consists of restaurants, shops, an amphitheater, walking trails and 2,300 apartments on what’s now the golf course by the Ballantyne hotel.
“Proposed apartment complex would ban cars.” (subscriber-only) Details on plans by Grubb Properties to build a 104-unit bike-friendly apartment complex in Seversville, north of uptown, that would require residents to sign leases saying they do not own cars. There are similar complexes in other cities, but this would be the first such development in Charlotte.
“ABC files: Reporter’s email launched ALE investigation into reindeer-sex beer can.” (subscriber-only) What is more fun than the details of alcohol-enforcement cases? Case files this month show that a routine media inquiry to the ABC Commission by WSOC’s Joe Bruno launched an Alcohol Law Enforcement investigation into Sycamore Brewing holiday beer cans that featured pixelated images of reindeer having sex. Sycamore agreed to pay a $1,000 fine, and Bruno took some good-natured ribbing on social media.
“Selling in a time of social distance.” (subscriber-only) The coronavirus has upended the lives of salespeople accustomed to frequent travel, trade shows and steak dinners. Instead, they now hold frequent Zoom meetings from their houses. “I hate it,” one local salesman told us.
“Parents get a glimpse of possible back-to-school scenarios, while online schools’ phones ring off the hook.” (subscriber-only) State education officials released possibilities of how students might return to school this fall with the coronavirus hanging around. We break it down.
We also told you about all the other big business and local news of the week, as usual. We’re working to build better, smarter local news for Charlotte. Here’s how you can help:
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In brief:
Security switch: CPI Security competitors ADT Inc. and Queen City Security say they have received a lot of phone calls from CPI customers looking to switch security-system providers after recent controversial comments by CPI’s CEO about the recent protests. Richard Sharpe, president of Maximum Fire and Security, said: “It takes a long time to build a good reputation ... and then takes about five minutes to completely destroy it. A business is an entity. It’s just unfortunate he didn’t realize that, being attached to that entity as the owner, your personal life can spill over into your business if you’re not careful.” (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Lawsuit filed: The family of Danquirs Franklin, who was shot and killed by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer last year outside a Burger King in west Charlotte, has filed a wrongful death suit against the city. No criminal charges were brought in the case. The city and CMPD declined comment. (WBTV)
Play ball: Mecklenburg County plans to allow residents to reserve baseball and softball fields beginning in July, County Manager Dena Diorio said Friday.
Behind uptown’s Black Lives Matter mural: Letter by letter, artists explain their vision for the street mural on South Tryon Street. (The Biscuit)
Skid mark investigation: After the discovery of tire marks across part of the mural painted on South Tryon Street, police say they are “currently reviewing this incident to determine exactly how it may have occurred.” (WCNC)
S.C. reopens bowling: South Carolina is allowing bowling alleys to reopen. “Guidelines suggest that operators ask bowlers to bring their own balls and shoes, use only every other lane to maintain social distancing, make hand sanitizer available and put disinfectant on surfaces bowlers could touch.” (WFAE/AP)
Lincoln’s footsteps? Lawyers for the Republican National Committee said in a Friday letter to local officials that they had no choice but to move the bulk of the national convention out of Charlotte because of restrictions on mass gatherings. Charlotte would still have some small business meetings, but President Trump plans to accept the nomination in Jacksonville, Fla. “By celebrating the Republican Party’s nomination in this manner, President Trump will be following in the footsteps of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who accepted the Party’s 1860 nomination in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, five days after the vote to nominate him took place,” the lawyers wrote. (WFAE)
Summer camp list: Although many summer day camps and overnight camps have been cancelled this year, some are still operating with social distancing rules in place. Scoop Charlotte has a list of about 10. (Scoop Charlotte)
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