Some Sewickley restaurants say loosened covid restrictions won't have much impact

While some covid restrictions for businesses throughout the state may soon be lifted, some Sewickley restaurant owners say the changes will not have a significant impact on their operations.

Gov. Tom Wolf on March 15 announced he would roll back a slew of mitigation measures effective April 4, including the curfew on alcohol sales and ban on bar service. Restaurants that self-certify their mitigation measures online can operate at 75% capacity. Otherwise, the limit is 50%.

Requirements such as mask-wearing and social distancing – including six feet between diners – also still apply, according to the governor’s announcement.

Joe Piccirilli, one of the proprietors of 424 Walnut, said he will not be able to increase capacity at his restaurant due to the social distancing requirement.

“The percentage doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s the six feet that kills you. I don’t know if it was well-thought-out or not. Who it benefits? Places that seat 500 or 600 people … If they say, ‘every three feet,’ it would be different because then you’re picking up more space. You only get so many tables every six feet.”

About 35 patrons can be seated at a time at 424 Walnut due to social distancing.

“We’re doing reservations first,” Piccirilli said about handling capacity limits. “If someone happens to cancel and we get a walk-in we’ll take them, but it’s so hard not to (seat people).”

One of the restrictions lifted was requiring a food purchase with drinks.

“For bars that just are bars that’s fine,” Piccirilli said. “For restaurants that are 80% food, it’s a tough call because you don’t want to offend anyone … We’re doing the best we can. We’re making everything work. Hopefully, this will all be over soon, everyone’s vaccinated and we move on.”

Chris DeRose, manager of the Sewickley Tavern, echoed Piccirilli’s comments.

“The restaurant is a little bit narrow and long,” DeRose said. “Due to having to keep six-foot spacing, I could put six seats at the bar, but then I’d have to do away with three tables that seat six guests, so I don’t gain anything. If anything, we might lose a little bit of money because people tend to spend more while they’re sitting at a table than they are at the bar.”

Seating is mostly reservations with a two-hour time limit to help with capacity issues. Only about 26 people can be seated at once.

Loosening the capacity restrictions may help with outdoor dining at Sewickley Tavern.

“The only thing it really helps are the big bars,” DeRose said. “Big bars can space people out at six feet, and they’re not even near tables. In a small intimate environment, our bar’s only 20-feet long. Spacing out people doesn’t help us any. We’re still in the same position.”

Vivo Kitchen general manager Martina DiBattista said the bar is a big draw for her business and she is excited to see those related restrictions lifted.

“The bar at Vivo’s is definitely a meeting place for locals in town, and a lot of them have missed it,” she said. “We have a lot of solo diners that enjoy sitting at the bar. It’s a very welcoming place. So, we’re excited to be able to have that again.”

She said the six-feet rule still limits their seating options.

“It’s not going to be a huge increase for us,” DiBattista said. “Those most likely would be bar seating. I don’t think we’re going to gain any more table seating. It could be 100% occupancy, but we would still have some limits there.”

Vivo, located on Beaver Street, can seat up to about 17 people at a given time based on staffing, and could add about four more seats when capacity limits go up.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to create a little bit more business with the increased occupancy,” DiBattista said. “With the weather getting nicer, we’d like to utilize the time that we have with the patio space available.

“It is good news. I think we’re all still very cautious. We’re all still very aware that there’s a pandemic happening. We’re excited that we have an opportunity to be able seat more guests and still keep everybody safe.”