Indoor dining in NJ can return on July 2 at a reduced capacity, Murphy says

Indoor dining will return to New Jersey on July 2, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. 

Restaurants will be able to serve patrons indoors, provided they only use 25 percent of their usual indoor seating capacity, Murphy said.

“We’re very happy to be taking a step forward," said Craig Kunisch, immediate past chair of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association and owner of the Mahwah Bar & Grill and Allendale Bar & Grill. 

New Jersey restaurants closed for in-person dining in mid-March but were still able to offer takeout and delivery. Many restaurants shut down completely, unable to make enough money to stay open on takeout revenue alone.

On June 15, restaurants reopened for outdoor dining. Restaurant owners must space tables 6 feet apart, set up sanitizing stations and require all waiters wearing staff to wear masks. Some towns, including Ridgewood, Allendale and Asbury Park, closed streets to allow restaurants to spread out tables.

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The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control also allowed restaurants with liquor licenses to expand their "licensed premises" to include outdoor areas, making it possible for them to sell cocktails al fresco.

Some towns, like Mahwah, according to Kunisch, rushed outdoor dining ordinances through to let restaurants that previously couldn't serve food outside open for outdoor dining.

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Struggling to turn a profit

Despite these concessions, restaurants are still struggling to turn a profit. They've had to install plexiglass barriers, buy gallons of hand sanitizer and PPE for workers, rehire their wait staff and install signs that urge social distancing. Those costs, plus the money lost by opening at a percentage of full capacity, are causing restaurants to hemorrhage money.

Meny Vaknin, owner of Mediterranean restaurant Mishmish, bakery Lusia and Marcel Bakery & Kitchen, will likely not reopen Mishmish for sit-down service at all.

“At Mishmish, [opening for dine-in] wouldn’t be relevant at all,” he said. “The whole operation has been converted into a takeout business.”

The Montclair restaurant, he said, would lose money, between hiring staff and disrupting their newly streamlined takeout business. Because they cannot open at 100% capacity, the profit wouldn't justify the cost.

For others, opening even at 25% capacity is a boon.

Bro-Ritos in Hackensack has never served customers indoors. It started as a food truck and opened its first brick-and-mortar location in April when indoor dining was prohibited. Owner Marcus Crawford says he’s ready to welcome guests into the bright-green walls of his burrito joint.

“It works out for us because our space is built for takeout anyway,” he said. Bro-Ritos has no wait staff, and guests will be able to sit – spaced 6 feet apart – at the counter after receiving their food.

As for the New Jersey dining industry as a whole, Kunisch is optomisticc.

“We’re not going to make any money, but this is about progress not profits," said Kunisch. "We need to take the opportunities we’re given. This is a loosening of restrictions."

Anthony Zurita is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all the major news happening in North Jersey, subscribe here. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: zuritaa@northjersey.com Twitter: @AnthonyRZurita