NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- It's opening weekend for restaurants in southern Indiana, and guests are eating it up.
"Everyone is so happy to be out. They're just excited to talk to people. Excited to be out in the community again," said Nick Garing, general manager of The Exchange Pub + Kitchen in New Albany.
The Exchange re-opened to diners on Thursday, and its weekend reservations are already booked.
"Today we're sitting at about 180 (reservations), and then tomorrow another 160," Garing said.
It's a promising sign, but not everything is back to normal. Indiana restaurants can only open at 50% capacity. Garing said it's not ideal, but "could definitely be a lot worse."
Inside The Exchange, social distancing keeps every other table off limits. All servers and staff members must wear masks and gloves at all times. Anyone who wants to dine in must get their temperatures checked at the door. Only one party is allowed into the front lobby at a time.
Over in Jeffersonville, Hoopster's is back open, too. A sign on the sports grill's door tells guests not to enter if they have a fever or any symptoms of COVID-19. Workers' faces are covered, and no one is allowed to sit or even order at the bar.
While it's a relief to see familiar faces and seats no longer sitting empty, it's not lost on local restaurant operators that some of the businesses won't survive the strains of the pandemic.
"As an industry, I feel for our brothers and sisters that aren't going to make it out of this," said Garing.
But there's still a lot of hope that things will keep getting better.
"I am optimistic, as long as everything keeps going in the direction that it is," said Garing, "that we'll be back in full swing by July."
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