Businesses taking extra safety steps after governor okays more customers inside

Governor Greg Abbott has given the okay this week for nearly all businesses in the state to reopen at 50% capacity. It's part of the third phase of his plan to reopen Texas.

The plan includes allowing bars to operate at 50% capacity and restaurants to seat 10 guests at one table, rather than six.

As the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Brazos County surpasses 300, officials with the Brazos County Health Department are encouraging residents to make wise decisions before heading out to bars and restaurants.

"The virus is still here and it’s still going to have an effect, despite the state opening up," said Brazos County Health Educator, Mary Parrish. "We want people to stay vigilant and still support your local businesses but keep in mind, if you go out, look for the places that have the "Operation Restart" insignia, wear face coverings, washer hands, use hand sanitizer."

One of the restaurants working with Operation Restart is Walk-Ons in College Station. Franchisee, Jenny Davis says the restaurant had only been open for 16 days before they had to close their doors due to the pandemic. Now open at 50% and seating larger parties, she says they're doing everything they can to keep everyone safe.

"We’re doing our disposable menus so it’s fewer surfaces to touch, we usually have someone opening the door for you and giving you that experience, so that’s one less thing to touch. We have hand sanitizers next to all the doorways, those were all recently installed," said Davis.

Davis says at the restaurant, they're working to create a safe and fun environment for their guests.

"There are so many people that come in and want to celebrate a birthday. They want to celebrate an anniversary, they've been sheltered in place, their kids are screaming, they want to get out and so we do that as safely as we can and we’ve got all of the regulations in place to do that and then we take it a step above with the things that Walk-Ons does with the added sanitation," said Davis.

As the virus doesn't appear to be slowing down, Davis understands not everyone is quite ready to get back out there yet.

"Ultimately, it’s a decision that you make. No one can force you to go out nobody can force you to stay in, but if you do come out, hopefully, you pick somewhere that he’s going to take good care of you and that has your health in the forefront," said Davis.

The Health District says while they want everyone to protect themselves from the virus, they also want to see local businesses succeed.

"Be wise with your decisions you make, this virus isn’t going anywhere. We want people to be safe and we want businesses to be able to thrive in our community," said Parrish.

More details on the measures Walk-Ons has taken to keep the restaurant safe can be found at the bottom of this article.

For more information on Operation Restart, the governor's plan, and Walk-Ons, see the related links section.