Restaurants and other businesses in Utah have been informed that they can reopen “temporarily” as ordered by the Governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, but this does not necessarily mean that normal operations will resume.

Herbert said at a recent press conference: "We may not see much change in our own personal behavior, but we will see more opportunities for companies to open up and interact than in the past."

Governor Herbert announced that social distancing restrictions still exist and that starting May 15th, people still need to gather in groups of no more than 50 people.

However, it is now allowed for companies that conduct business in compliance with these guidelines to do so.

After not allowing anyone to eat in their premises, restaurants around St. George will be authorized to allow people to eat indoors for the first time since March 19.

Here is how local restaurants responded and what they will do to help ensure people’s safety while still enjoying the restaurant dining experience.

Although the restaurant has been approved to reopen, they must still abide by the guidelines, prohibiting customers from being 6 feet away from each other, and emphasizing that the number of people in the store cannot exceed 50 at any given time. 

One of the restaurants in the area responsible for the logistics of reopening is Xetava Gardens Cafe, which is a restaurant in Ivins. The restaurant is small and it is difficult for dining guests to keep a safe distance from each other.

"Our restaurant is a very strange shape, it is very small, so we open it in this case almost meaningless, because according to the 10-foot rule, we only have about four tables," said restaurant owner Greg Federman. "But what we have is a complete art village, where we can put the tables, and the art village becomes a restaurant. So we have a very unique situation."

In order to solve their seating problem, Federman said that Xetava might put tables in their open space in the art village around the restaurant, and then carry out a modified mobile dining service from there.

Federman said: "We will do everything in a portable form and allow people to sit anywhere 10 feet away from the Art Village." "People will be able to order through their phones, pay through their phones, and then Come to fetch the food, or we can bring it to the table."

Although Xetava faces its own challenges, every restaurant that opens a dine-in business will soon face a unique set of obstacles to allow people to eat in their premises while also ensuring the safety of the public.

Jackson Porter, general manager of Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street in St. George, talked about what measures this restaurant will take to ensure the safety of customers without outdoor seating space such as Xetava.

"We will continue to provide one-off menus, my staff will continue to wear masks and gloves, and I will cancel certain seating areas to give people space," Porter said. "My restaurant always has linen tablecloths, but we will use them. Disposable tablecloths and sterilize the table after each use. We even have a mobile sink so that guests can use it anytime and anywhere. It makes them very clear that we are doing a lot of things and makes them feel particularly comfortable here."

Once they open, it is obvious that due to national restrictions that prevent them from having crowded places, most restaurants serving diners will not be able to operate at full capacity.

Nicki Pace, owner of George's Corner in downtown St. George, said: “We will use six feet of space between tables, hands-free payment, and all safety protocols for food handling, hand washing and masks in the kitchen to achieve 50% capacity.” 

The general response to Governor Herbert’s order appears to be that restaurants are excited about resuming business, but are cautious when taking steps to ensure that they do not become the accidental center of outbreaks in southern Utah.

"We want to be open, we want to do what we like to do, to serve people, but we don't want to jump too fast and encourage problems," Pace said. "But at the same time, we can't sit there all the time, so we are trying to move forward in a very responsible way so as not to make people feel uneasy."

Coronavirus in southwestern Utah: 2 new COVID-19 cases, total statewide to 4,495

The delicate balance between meeting the needs of the community while maintaining a thriving business is the pressure that many southern Utah restaurant owners—and general business owners—have been facing for more than a month.

Federman has adopted a more optimistic attitude, that is, keeping the restaurant open while responding to such crises may actually be a positive result.

"People are becoming more and more accustomed to using their mobile phones. This will become a trend for many years. People order by phone, pay by phone, and take out. This forces problems where there is no traditional interest in doing so," Federman said. . "In this particular environment, in the strangest way, this may force us to transition to a better system. Although everyone thinks I am crazy now, I am very excited."

It's hard to blame restaurant owners like Federman for showing excitement about their business returning to normal.

After a month of renewal agreements, new procedures, and restaurants threatened by the global pandemic, the owners and managers of food industry companies cautiously but enthusiastically hope to restore St. George's new normal.

"We do more dine-in than takeaway, so we will recoup most of our sales, and I think my employees will be happy to go to work," Porter said. "When you sit idle for too long for a month or two, it will definitely cause harm to a person, so I think many people will be happy to go back to their daily life when they go out, do productive things and be diligent. I think For many people, bringing their lives back to normal will be good both mentally and emotionally."

Follow reporter Terell Wilkins on Twitter @terelljwilkins, call 252-367-8463 or send an email to twilkins@thespectrum.com.