Omaha restaurants transition back to dine-in service

Over the past week, people in Douglas County have been able to return to some of their favorite restaurants after Nebraska's governor allowed dining rooms to reopen, with certain restrictions.

For weeks, restaurants were forced to transition only to carryout or curbside delivery, or shut down and wait it out. The Jams off Dodge transitioned to takeout and curbside three weeks ago, but Monday the dining room was opened back up at half-capacity.

"We've been crazy busy with takeout and curbside but we wanted to ease our way back into the norm," said Jams Manager, Jeremy McFadden.

Monday night McFadden says the Jams location sat 4 or 5 tables. Tuesday's Cinco de Mayo celebrations brought a bigger crowd throughout the day.

"Just slowly picking up little by little, but nowhere near where we would be if we were open and the world was normal," McFadden said.

In West Omaha at the Stokin' Goat, General Manager Shawn Troester says the restaurant's regular customers were the first to come back this week.

"Out of everyone who has been in our store, I can probably name on a first name basis 9 out of 10 of them so that's fun to see," he said.

Even with the dining room partially open at at the Stokin' Goat, carryout orders are still going strong.

"It's about 50/50 for dine in and to-go business still right now which we totally get. People that want to be in here can come in, people that want to wait a bit we can keep curbside going," Troester said.

With Mother's Day approaching, Troester says reservations are filling up, but he's not sure what kind of dine-in business will follow what he calls the "Superbowl weekend" for restaurants.

"We expect that it's going to be a work in progress to get the public comfortable with going out again," he said. "It's a step in the right direction and it's a blessing that people still want to come out regardless of the situation."

Restaurants in Douglas County that opened their dining rooms must keep tables 6 feet apart, sit no more than 6 people at a table, and operate at a 50% capacity. As of Friday afternoon, Omaha police tell 6 News they had issued no citations for non-compliance at any businesses.