GREENSBORO, N.C. — After coronavirus shut down businesses for months, some are still trying to get back on their feet, and they're hoping this holiday weekend will fuel that need.
This July 4th holiday will be one of the first holidays some dining rooms are open for.
Machete is one of those restaurants, having reopened their dining room just last week.
"Last Wednesday was our first night of limited dining so far it’s gone well," said Talmadge Blevins, owner of Machete.
The restaurant had been sticking to take-out for weeks, even after being given the go-ahead from the state to reopen under the phase two plan.
"We had garage doors at the very front that we could open up. So people get a lot of fresh air and people are very happy in the lounge," said Blevins, "This week has actually been pretty good for a holiday week. Usually, you see a big dip in July 4. I think people are up for supporting local. I don’t think as many people are traveling."
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Blevins said they spent time training their employees and getting them comfortable with proper safety measures. The restaurant is placing tables more than 6 feet apart to keep their customers comfortable.
SouthEnd Brewing has been open for in-person dining for weeks, with safety precautions in place.
Owner Seth Kavorkian said business has steadily picked up since they reopened, but they expect business to stay relatively the same this weekend.
"We're not expecting this weekend to be much different from a regular weekend," said Kavorkian, "We did talk about the idea of planning some events here but anything that is intended to draw a larger than normal crowd would put us in a difficult situation where we’d have to be spending a lot more time managing space between groups and we wouldn’t want to be a location where people are coming into closer contact than they need to."
Kavorkian said they've practiced extensive sanitation and cleaning of high contact areas and tables in between people being seated.
Southend Brewing has required employees to wear masks since reopening, but city and state mandates have now prompted the restaurant to require their patrons to wear masks when they get up from their table.
"Think about your local restaurants your local businesses out there. Everybody is still hurting regardless of whether they are open or not," said Blevins.