Restaurants, gyms, casinos reopen as latest covid-19 restrictions expire

Restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos reopened Monday morning at a still-limited capacity when Pennsylvania’s most recent set of covid-19 restrictions expired at 8 a.m.

The restrictions, started Dec. 12, barred restaurants from allowing indoor dining and shut down gyms and casinos in the face of a post-Thanksgiving surge in virus cases. Gov. Tom Wolf signaled last week he would allow the restrictions to expire as planned.

Restaurants can resume indoor dining at the previously set 50% capacity limit, which remains in place with no set end date. Restaurant owners must complete a covid-related online self-certification process in order to have that 50% capacity, and those that do not complete the free certification can operate only at 25% of their normal occupancy limit.

Other restaurant-related restrictions remain in place. Alcohol sales must halt at 11 p.m., and alcohol sales must be accompanied by a food order.

Gyms and entertainment venues such as museums, theaters, casinos are still limited to 50% capacity. All other in-person businesses can operate at 75% capacity.

High school and youth sports can resume, as can extracurricular activities.

Long-running restrictions remain: Masks must be worn outside of one’s home and even indoors when with someone outside the immediate household; schools must continue to follow state and federal health guidance; telework must continue where possible; and those traveling to Pennsylvania should receive a negative covid-19 test within three days of travel or quarantine upon arrival.

J & S Pizza in Harrison is thrilled to be able to offer indoor dining again.

“Not having that availability, that limits how much business we can get. It also affects all the surrounding businesses near us,” manager Domenico Schiano Di Cola said. “We’re happy for everyone being back to almost normal.”

Schiano Di Cola said the restaurant will operate at 25% of its normal occupancy limit for the time being, and, if needed, adjust accordingly.

“It feels good. We get to have people come in again,” Schiano Di Cola said. “We enjoy having our dining rooms full. We feel like we actually have a purpose having the lights on.”

Schiano Di Cola said the restaurant maintained takeout and delivery while indoor dining was shut down.

One positive was that because there was no indoor dining, the dining room didn’t have to be cleaned as thoroughly.

However, employees still had to be diligent with cleaning the counter, phones and pens that customers and employees used, Schiano Di Cola said.

“(It was) a little stressful in that instance, but it hasn’t been anything too serious for us,” Schiano Di Cola said. “We’ve just been able to grind, keep our head down, and go and do day-by-day.”

George Kleckner of Greensburg was back riding the stationary bicycle Monday at the Aerobic Center in Greensburg, the first day he could get into the facility.

“It’s great to be back. I’m really ecstatic. It’s nice being down here sweating and getting some exercise,” said Kleckner, who survived the coronavirus he caught around Thanksgiving. He suffered from severe aches and headaches and general tiredness, but no shortness of breath or high fever.

“I consider myself fortunate,” said Kleckner, who has now survived covid-19 and the Vietnam War.

The size of the crowd Monday inside the Aerobic Center at Lynch Field was “about normal,” but it remains below one-half of the number of people who were using the facility in February, before the first government-ordered shutdown in mid-March, said Roman Carloni, the Aerobic Center assistant manager.

Even though the 25,000-square—foot fitness center is operating at half-capacity — with extra cleaning of machines and putting machines out of service so that no users is exercising right next to another person, the crowds are not the same as the pre-covid days, Carloni said. The number of people in exercise classes have been reduced by half in an attempt to keep people safe, Carloni said.

Having put on a few pounds over the holidays — eating and not exercising since Dec. 12 — avid weightlifter Mark Grant of Greensburg was bench pressing 225 pounds Monday.

“I love coming here. This is my favorite spot, except for my home,” Grant said.

Sean Watson, one of three partners who owns botL in New Kensington, said the restaurant plans to reopen for indoor dining Wednesday.

“We’re excited to move forward, excited to have people back in,” Watson said. “To start the new year off right, hitting the ground running.”

Watson said the community stepped in to support the restaurant during the latest round of covid-19 restrictions. The bar-restaurant was able to offer its signature Old Fashioned cocktails to go.

“I think the most beautiful thing that I’ve seen is how generous some of the takeout clients were,” Watson said. “I think they were ordering just to help servers, and tipping as much as the bill in certain cases.”

Watson said the restaurant will follow the state’s guidelines when it comes to alcohol sales. The state has said alcohol sales must halt at 11 p.m., and alcohol sales must be accompanied by a food order.

“It’s not that hard to follow. We don’t necessarily want to be open past 11 p.m. anyways,” Watson said. “Asking people to try our food while they have a drink is not the hardest request in the world.”

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

It has completed an online self-certification, and will operate at 50% of its normal occupancy limit. It would not be able to sustain at a 25% occupancy limit, Watson said.

“Twenty-five percent leaves room for six guests,” Watson said. “It’s really a choice on whether we go out of business or not if we keep it at 25%. We have to be at 50%.”

As tempting as it might be to defy Gov. Wolf’s orders banning indoor dining and drinking the past three weeks, Grapeville Station owner Dan Ereditario said he did not want to chance it.

“I got fined twice in the spring — one time for selling a beer to a customer who bought a six-pack of beer. I got fined (by the Liquor Control Board) $1,000 for selling one beer,” Ereditario said. He also was fined for selling a beer to a customer who was waiting for his takeout order of food, Ereditario said.

So, instead of taking a chance on losing his liquor license, Ereditario complied with the regulations banning indoor eating and drinking. Selling the occasional six-pack of beer was not enough to keep a staff of five working at the bar, and they had to be laid off, Ereditario said.

“We hung in there,” Ereditario said. “Thank God we were able to open up now.”

“I don’t know how all these other places could remain open, and some even advertised. Where was the LCB?” said Ereditario, who has owned the tavern in Hempfield village of Grapeville for 16 years.

For Kelly Conroy of Harrison City, who has worked at the Grapeville Station for 15 years, the shutdown could not have come at a worse time.

“I pretty much lost Christmas. It was just terrible. I told my son we will have to do it later,” said Conroy, taking a break from serving more than a dozen patrons.