Despite Orders To Curb Indoor Dining, Some Restaurants Plan To Allow Guests

Despite restrictions in place to combat climbing COVID-19 cases and the surge in hospitalizations, some restaurant owners are moving forward without implementing St. Louis County’s orders.

County officials aimed to curb indoor dining, which could allow the virus to spread more easily. The county indicated its intent to work with restaurants to help them continue to serve customers, though County Executive Sam Page said those who defy guidelines could face consequences, KMOV reported Monday (November 16).

Still, some restaurant owners aren’t on board with the restrictions. Some of the restaurants that will still allow indoor dining include Bartolino’s and Satchmo’s Bar and Grill, according to KMOV.

“It's not fair because the other areas in the St. Louis metro area are able to have dine-in service and we're not able to do that, it's just not a fair playing field,” said Bartolino’s owner Michael Saracino said. “I want to do this for our employees and representatives of our fellow restaurant owners too. We just want to make a stand and feel that it’s right. We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem and we haven’t been afforded that opportunity.”

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force recently made a plea for a statewide mask mandate, doubtful that the decision at the county-level wouldn’t be enough.

Gov. Mike Parson also stressed that it’s “imperative” to take COVID-19 precautions, including wearing a mask.

The state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows more than 28,000 new cases in the past seven days, as of Tuesday (November 17). That’s an average of more than 4,000 cases per day and 462 cases per 100,000 residents. There have been more than 122,000 tests administered in that time frame. The state’s positivity rate is 24.4% as of Tuesday.

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