Restaurants see steady flow of customers dining in as they reopen

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Thursday marked the first time in more than a month that customers are allowed to eat inside a restaurant.

Governor Tate Reeves announced earlier this week restaurants can operate at 50 percent capacity.

In Starkville, it was another busy day at Oby’s.

Along with curbside orders, they also served customers looking to dine in.

Anderson Crechale and LaKoury Hammond, both Mississippi State students, were among the dozens to be seated inside.

“I was not skeptical at all,” said Crechale. “I was excited to be able to come out and enjoy my food in a restaurant and sit with my friend.”

“I got a shrimp po’boy and a chili and cheese spud,” said Hammond.

The two said they missed being able to enjoy dining inside a restaurant, and they were definitely taking in more than just their food.

“Just being able to come in and sit down with friends and be able to eat and talk at a table with friends,” said Hammond.

“I mean it’s been great, just like it used to be before quarantine,” said Hammond.

“My kitchen, the first couple of orders they did, they made “For Here” orders “To Go” just because that’s all they’ve been doing the last eight weeks, so I had to get them used to it again,” said Ayers Spencer, owner of Oby’s.

Spencer said they were ready to see and serve customers on the inside.

While they saw a slim, but steady flow of patrons on the first day, he expects the crowd to soon grow even bigger.

“When we opened the doors at 10:30 A.M., we did have a group of two that were ready to come on in,” said Spencer. “I think some people are finally ready to get out of the house after being cooped up for the last eight weeks.”

Also happy to have customers back inside is 1883 Smokehouse.

“Oh we need the cash flow,” said Mark Welch, restaurant owner. “We’re all small businesses. We’re not a big corporation like Sonic or Wendy’s, we’re a mom and pop so we need all we can get.”

Welch said the turnout on the first day was better then he imagined.

The smokehouse, just like many other restaurants, has implemented new safety measures, such as moving tables six feet apart, and requiring employees to wear face masks.

“Now we’re taking emphasis for everybody to get sanitized before they come into the building,” Welch described. “As you can see from the stuff on the front door, we have some questions we ask our customers, so that’s a different thing, but that’s a good thing. We can relate our customers, we can laugh, it’s good to see our customers again.”

Although Thursday marked the first day restaurants could allow customers to start dining in, many chose not to do so, instead they’re going to wait until next week before opening up.

Oby’s and 1883 Smokehouse will continue to have the curbside option available for customers for those who still want to use the option.