I think today was the first day that I actually set foot inside of a restaurant for more than like 30 seconds, and it was very uncomfortable and weird.
I decided to grab lunch from Firehouse Subs, but their app wasn’t working so I had to go inside to place my order. The place looked as if they were getting ready to tear up the floors – all of the tables and chairs had been piled in the corners except for a single row of tiny two-seaters against the wall opposite the counter. A table with cups and lids was setup in front of the drink station so that no one would have to hand you your cup. And a stack of high chairs served as a barricade to provide extra distance between customers and the cashier.
There were a couple of X’s in tape on the floor to indicate where people were supposed to wait, but there was only one other guy sitting at a table by himself eating his lunch, so it didn’t really matter.
Surprisingly, there were like four or five employees on the other side of the counter, which seemed excessive, but I suppose it was later in the afternoon so maybe it was busier earlier.
For the last month and a half, I’ve pretty much exclusively gotten my food through drive-thrus and curbside service, and even Panera the other day brought my food out to me instead of me going in just to grab it off of their takeout shelf.
The other day I drove through the mall and admittedly it was very strange to drive past restaurants and see tables full of people, even spaced far apart.
I’d imagine it’s even more uncomfortable for the employees working at these places.