LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Jeffersontown plans to use parking lots as dining areas when restaurants reopen next week.
Jeffersontown Mayor Bill Dieruf said he will issue a temporary executive order Friday that will expand the outdoor capacity of all restaurants in the city.
"We felt the best way was to look at the outdoor dining," said Mayor Dieruf.
Under the state health guidelines, restaurants on May 22 are allowed to open at 33% capacity for indoor seating and "unlimited outdoor seating" as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
Dieruf's order also will allow drinks to be served in those areas.
The mayor said all areas also must comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for social distancing.
"We are extremely thankful for the efforts of our restaurants during this time to provide delicious meals to us, and those meals have made our days brighter, Dieruf said.
"The order is Jeffersontown’s way of saying thank you in a way that will help our restaurants to increase their service, and which will allow more of our residents and friends to return to their favorite places safely,” he said.
The executive order is exciting news to Jeffersontown restaurant owners like Ernesto Rivera.
He said, "We actually took over the place back in January."
Rivera is co-owner I Love Tacos on Taylorsville Road in Jeffersontown. He said the COVID-19 pandemic crashed the restaurant's grand opening.
"The week that we were going to open, that's when everybody started to get sick," said Rivera.
Since then, the restaurant has provided curbside service, but Rivera is looking forward to May 22nd. He said, "It's going to help us a lot. Again, we are going to put some kind of guidelines and rules from us in place. We want to make sure that all the customers keep their distance for safety reasons."
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