Important Information for Retail Stores and Outside Dining at Restaurants
As Mayor, I look forward to the day when all of our businesses can be fully open serving customers in restaurants, retail shops, salons, and personal services. These past few months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been difficult beyond description as we worried about our families and friends, our health, jobs, and our businesses. So, it was welcome news when Governor Phil Murphy announced another step toward normalcy.
Beginning June 15 at 6 am, restaurants and other food establishments can begin outdoor dining and retailers can welcome customers inside their stores, though on a limited basis. So many of our residents and many of your loyal customers are anxious to return to your businesses.
I write to you today to share the guidelines for operating in Phase Two of the recovery program. The guidelines, contained in Executive Order 150, only address outdoor dining and non-essential retail. We await guidelines for personal services and other businesses. This list is quite lengthy but I urge you to read it and share with your employees so they are aware of and practice these important safety protocols.
Food or beverage establishments offering service at outdoor areas pursuant to Executive Order No. 150 (2020) must adhere to the protocols listed below
:
a. Obtain all required municipal approvals (permits, if required) before offering food and/or beverage consumption at outdoor areas;
b. Post signage at the entrance that states that no one with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19 should enter the food or beverage establishment;
c. Limit seating to a maximum of eight (8) customers per table and arrange seating to achieve a minimum distance of six feet (6 ft) between parties;
d. Rope off or otherwise mark tables, chairs and bar stools that are not to be used;
e. Demarcate 6 feet of spacing in patron waiting areas;
f. Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors, sidewalks, and signage on walls to ensure that customers remain at least 6 ft apart in line for the restroom or waiting for seating;
g. Eliminate self-service food or drink options such as buffets, salad bars, and self-service drink stations;
h. Disinfect all tables, chairs and any other shared items (menus, condiments, pens) after each use;
i. Install physical barriers and partitions at cash registers, bars, host stands and other area where maintaining physical distance of 6 ft is difficult;
j. Ensure 6 ft of physical distancing between workers and customers, except at the moment of payment and/or when employees are servicing the table;
k. Require infection control practices, such as regular handwashing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and proper tissue usage and disposal;
I. Require frequent sanitization of high-touch areas like credit card machines, keypads, and counters to which the public and workers have access;
m. Place conspicuous signage at entrance alerting staff and customers to the required 6 ft of physical distance;
n. Require all food or beverage establishments to have an inclement weather policy that, if triggered, would require the food or beverage establishment.
Food or beverage establishments offering service at outdoor areas pursuant to Executive Order No. 150 (2020) must impose the following requirements on employees:
a. Require employees to wash and/or sanitize their hands when entering the food or beverage establishment;
b. Conduct daily health checks (e.g. temperature screening and/or symptom checking) of employees safely and respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable privacy laws and regulations;
c. Require employees with symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, or shortness of breath) be sent home;
d. Require all employees to wear face coverings, except where doing so would inhibit the individual's health, and require employees to wear gloves when in contact with customers and when handing prepared foods or serving food, utensils, and other items to customers;
e. Provide all employees with face coverings and gloves;
f. Provide employees break time for repeated handwashing throughout the workday;
g. Provide sanitization materials, such as hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes to staff.
Food or beverage establishments offering service at outside areas pursuant to Executive Order No. 150 (2020) must institute the following policies with respect to customers:
a. Inform customers that safety measures such as social distancing, wearing face coverings when they are away from their table and unable to social distance or when they are inside the indoor portion of the premises of the food or beverage establishment (unless the customer has a medical reason for not doing so or is a child under two years of age), and hygiene practices must be adhered to while in the food or beverage establishment;
b. Encourage reservations for greater control of customer traffic/volume;
c. Require customers to provide a phone number if making a reservation to facilitate contact tracing;
d. Recommend customers wait in their cars or away from the food or beverage establishment while waiting for a table if outdoor wait area cannot accommodate social distancing;
e. Alert customers via calls/texts to limit touching and use of shared objects such as pagers/buzzers;
f. Encourage the use of digital menus;
g. Decline entry to the indoor portion of the establishment to a customer who is not wearing a face covering, unless the customer has a medical reason for not doing so or is a child under two years of age;
h. Provide a hand sanitizer station for customers.
For establishments with liquor licenses: a special permit has been created to permit you to serve alcohol outdoors and expand your service area allowance
- The E.O. allows for the expansion of a restaurant’s footprint outdoors as per municipality allowances, meaning restaurants can move outdoor dining onto sidewalks and roadways, parking lots, etc., as each local government allows.
- For those establishments with a liquor license, in order to serve alcohol outdoors and to expand your service area allowance, a special permit has been created that must be applied for.
- The COVID-19 Expansion of Premises Permit allows for the expansion of current serving space as well as for the ability to serve alcohol at a location in close proximity to the restaurant.
- All ABC guidance will be attached to the recap email.
- The permit costs $75 dollars and this is a one-time fee (keep in mind the normal expenditure for expansion of a liquor license for an outdoor festival or event, etc., is $75 PER DAY – this ONE-TIME $75 dollar fee will cover restaurants thru November 30, 2020)
- Owners are encouraged to apply immediately to be ready for the June 15 opening
Non-Essential Retail Open to Customers
- Permitted to open stores to customers but limited to 50% of occupancy rate
- Requiring owners, employees and customers to wear face masks or face coverings
- Set special shopping hours for those most vulnerable (elderly, immune comprised,) serious health issues)
- Perform regular sanitizing
- Install protections between cashier or check out areas and customers
Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. The Township Committee is working on several initiatives to support businesses, including a streamlined approval process so food establishments can expand their outdoor dining area until indoor dining returns. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at
[email protected]
or Township Administrator Jamie Cryan at
[email protected].
I look forward to seeing you soon at your restaurant or shop. Stay well. Stay safe.
Patrick Giblin
Mayor
Township of Cranford
