Steady flow of customers at local restaurants as second phase of reopening begins
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 11 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 15, 2021 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Business looked brisk, at least as brisk as it could be, at local restaurants for lunch Sunday, after Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday Grant and Adams counties would move to the second phase of the state’s reopening plan.
Inslee’s Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery is the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed businesses and most other activity in late March 2020. Businesses have reopened and closed depending on the number of coronavirus cases in the region.
The state was divided into eight regions as part of Inslee’s reopening plan, five of which were moved to Phase 2 Thursday. Two were moved to the second phase Feb. 1. The last region, the South Central, was moved to the second phase Sunday.
The second phase allows restaurants to reopen for indoor dining, up to 25% of the building’s capacity. For some businesses, like gyms, the second phase begins Monday. Restaurants were allowed to open for Valentine’s Day.
The crowd was steady at Papa’s Casino and Ten Pin Taphouse & Restaurant in Moses Lake.
“Business is good. It’s busy,” said a waitress who declined to give her name. “People are excited to be back inside.”
Katey Haughton, the front house manager at Porterhouse Steakhouse, said the Porterhouse normally isn’t open on Sunday, but it made an exception for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s getting off to a really good start,” Haughton said. “We’re looking pretty good.”
The Porterhouse reopened two weeks ago, after some remodeling to meet the COVID-19 restrictions. Papa’s owners put up a tent. Those things allowed reopening, but “it feels good to be back inside,” the Papa’s waitress said.
Like a lot of restaurants, the Porterhouse offered takeout throughout last year. Haughton said it’s good to interact with customers again, which was something impossible in the same way when customers picked up takeout.
The second phase allows movie theaters and bowling alleys to reopen at 25% capacity. More people will be allowed to attend weddings and funerals, but funerals and weddings must conform to the restrictions at the venue where the event occurs.
Indoor competition is allowed in low and moderate-risk sports, and outdoor competition is allowed for low, moderate and high-risk sports. Outdoor sports can have up to 200 spectators.
Grant County Commissioner Rob Jones said he was pleased with the move to the second phase.
“I think it’s definitely been long enough,” Jones said.
The sooner the region, and the state, can get back to reopening, the better, he said.
“I’m very excited to move forward. I think everybody is,” Jones said.
Andrew Canning, marketing and communications director for Confluence Health, said business, non-profits, medical providers and public health officials built partnerships that were key for the second phase. Those partnerships will continue to be crucial, he said.
“While this announcement allows businesses, who have been closed since mid-November, the opportunity to reopen, the process ahead remains unclear and unpredictable,” Canning said.
Vaccination, social distancing and other precautions will be required to ensure progress continues, he said.
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