Several local restaurants and movie theaters have made changes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a news conference Thursday, Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said he will meet with elected leaders throughout the county to implement and order that all restaurants and bars close in-room dining and only be available for takeout, drive-through or curbside delivery.
Jose Gracio, operations manager of Wing Barn on Boca Chica Boulevard in Brownsville, said there has been a decrease of dine-in customers since the COVID-19 outbreak.
“A lot of people don’t want to come in into the dining area,” Gracio said. “They would prefer, you know, to take out and eat at home, things like that.”
He said employees are asked to wear gloves at all times and change them if they come into contact with anything frequently touched. Ketchup and mustard bottles as well as napkins were removed from tables and as soon as customers leave a table, chairs and tables are sanitized.
“We’re restocking on our sanitizer a lot more often now than before,” Gracio said. “We’re making sure that our cashiers are only stationed at the register. … That way, they won’t be having to change out their gloves as often.”
He said they are pushing curbside pickup.
“Our business is open to the public and we’re encouraging them to use that curb side that we actually just started doing today, to utilize that option of takeout,” he said earlier this week.
Lola’s Bistro, which is located at 1335 Palm Blvd. in Brownsville, had also implemented the city’s half occupancy measures before the new restrictions.
“It is very critical because we have a lot of employees whose families, home, all of that, depend on their job and there is an uncertainty in not knowing if it is going to last a short time,” Sandra Quezada, chef at Lola’s Bistro, said in Spanish earlier this week. “We have catering events and private events that are being canceled. So, yes it’s affecting us a lot.”
Quezada said employees are constantly washing their hands after finishing an activity. She said they are always using gloves and changing them.
Instead of having 12 employees, they have six in order to have more control on activities.
She said operating hours remain the same unless they have to update them.
Asked for additional thoughts or comments, Quezada replied, “Only that we stay healthy and follow health guidelines to the max.”
Cinemark has temporarily closed its U.S. theaters in order to “prioritize the health and safety of … guests, employees and communities,” according to a post it published Tuesday on its Facebook page.
