Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

After almost three months of being limited to takeout and delivery services — and, since June 3, outdoor seating — the area's bars and restaurants can seat up to 50% of their capacity with the beginning of phase three of the central New York region's reopening. 

The COVID-19 pandemic that led to their closure, however, will still limit bars and restaurants in more ways than capacity. The state's requires those businesses to also space tables 6 feet apart or separate them with physical barriers at least 5 feet high. Patrons must wear face coverings whenever they're not seated. And all surfaces have to be routinely sanitized, including condiments and menus, which should be replaced with disposable versions if possible.

"This is more intimidating than when we first opened," said Jeff Campagnola of downtown Auburn cocktail bar A.T. Walley & Co. during a Facebook Live interview with Ë®¹ûÅÉAV Tuesday.

Campagnola, who owns the bar with Bernie Simmons and Nick Musso, said they've been using shower curtains for barriers between tables because the price of Plexiglas has gone "through the roof."

But that's not the only supply issue A.T. Walley and other bars and restaurants have encountered as they reopen. The rise of meat prices has led the bar to reconfigure its food menu, Campagnola said. And down Genesee Street at Thirsty Pug Craft Beer, owner Mike Sigona can barely order any kegs. That's because, with bars and tasting rooms unable to serve people for three months, breweries have been canning or bottling all their beer lately, he said. This is especially true of the popular India pale ale style, whose flavor declines after three months.

Jim DeSocio, co-owner of Lasca's Restaurant in Auburn, has seen meat prices go up as well. But the restaurant isn't raising prices to pass that cost onto customers, he said, and he thinks they appreciate that.

Lasca's, which he opened in 1987 with co-owner Kevin Anderson, has done well with takeout service during the pandemic, DeSocio said. After all, the restaurant has had a dedicated carryout business for years. So little has changed at the Lasca's kitchen, he continued, though he's happy to be seating customers in the dining room again.

"I miss the creativity of the different dishes we make," he said. "Not mass production for carryout. Now we can get back to our appetizers, our entrée specials, our dessert specials."

DeSocio said Lasca's returns at about 90% of its previous level of staffing. Some were anxious to come back, he said, though the state's unemployment insurance — which has been supplemented with an extra $600 a week during the pandemic — has been "a tough gig for us restaurant people" because it offers workers more money.

But to DeSocio, the biggest challenge of reopening is sanitation. The state's guidance calls for an "insurmountable" amount of it, he said, and like Plexiglas, sanitizer has been double or even triple the price it was before the pandemic. At Lasca's, there's also a lot to sanitize: The dining room has a capacity of 294, so the restaurant will be limiting itself to about 140 customers, DeSocio said.

He realizes that puts Lasca's in a better position than most restaurants, though. It has the room to accommodate a healthy number of customers, in healthy fashion. The restaurant isn't even seating people outside, DeSocio said, and instead is using that space for overflow traffic to socially distance from one other.

After almost three months of not being able to dine out, DeSocio also isn't worried about those customers coming back.

"I think people are anxious to get out, they've been cooped up for so long," he said. "I think it'll be OK."