CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More businesses are now able to hold more customers and visitors across the state of North Carolina, with many coronavirus restrictions lifted or updated Friday evening.
Gov. Roy Cooper previously announced more North Carolinians will soon be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine; Group 5 can start lining up for the shot as early as April 7, 2021. During his announcement, he also said he signed Executive Order No. 204, which lifts or lessens the occupancy restrictions many businesses faced during the pandemic.
While different businesses can start welcoming more customers to their shops, restaurants, and salons, a mask mandate remains in effect. Six feet of social distance is also still being included as a requirement.
Here's what changes effective at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 26, 2021:
Which businesses can open back up to full capacity?
Museums and aquariums can host 100% of their capacity, as can retail shops and salons. Included in the salon group are tattoo parlors and other personal care and grooming businesses. The 100% capacity allowance applies to both indoor and outdoor areas at these businesses.
Are restaurants about to be more open as well?
Yes, and there are different capacity limits for indoor and outdoor areas. Restaurants can allow up to 75% of their full capacity indoors, but outdoor seating areas can be filled up to 100%. Your favorite eatery isn't the only business that will have to follow this rule either; pools, amusement parks, and fitness centers (like gyms and yoga studios) can let more people inside, as can breweries, wineries, and distilleries. Other recreation venues can also welcome more people, including rock climbing areas, bowling alleys, and skating rinks.
Can I enjoy a drink with more friends at my neighborhood bar too?
Yes, but bars are capped at 50% capacity both inside and outside, so keep that in mind before getting out on the town for a cocktail or to get your favorite IPA on tap. Night clubs and lounges (including tobacco lounges) are also under the 50% capacity cap.
If you plan on taking in a night of live music or catching the big game, make sure to get tickets early; live performance venues like auditoriums and arenas can only be half-full inside and out along with sports arenas and fields; this includes professional, collegiate, and amateur leagues.
Movie theaters and gaming facilities have the same 50% indoor capacity limit as well, but unlike the other venues listed above, they can also welcome up to 75% of their outdoor capacities.
Can I get a beverage later now?
As of 5 p.m. Friday night, yes; North Carolina's 11 p.m. curfew for on-site alcohol consumption is lifted with this order, meaning you'll have more time before the bar announces the last call.
Public health officials also offered additional guidelines in addition to Gov. Cooper's order:
- Keep interactions with other people short, about less than 15 minutes
- Keep masks on the entire time when possible
- Maintain your physical distance
- If you can, avoid singing, yelling, and cheering, as COVID-19 is transmitted through the air
Social Distancing Limitations
While increased capacity is good news for most businesses some restaurants say with the latest mandate upgrade to 75% capacity, not much changes. That's mostly due to the six feet social distancing that is still required.
"75% sounds like we're getting more capacity but were still adhering to the six-foot rule, we really didn't increase the number of seats at any of our places," Charlotte restaurant owner, Jeff Tonidandel said.
Tonidandel owns Supperland, Haberdish, Crepe Cellar, Pourhouse, and Reigning doughnuts. He's had to make dining in, a safe and appetizing option.
"It's been really dynamic constantly changing," Tonidandel said.
While the capacity change won't do anything for his businesses, the order does lift a ban on late-night alcohol sales allowing restaurants to stay open later.
"Maybe get an extra turn in through the night with those late hours," Tonidandel said.
“We don’t want to cramp people in here," Open Kitchen owner Christina Skiouris said.
She and her staff are mindful to keep their customers comfortably separate and safe while still meeting the demands of increased crowds.
“Lately we’re seeing a lot more customers," Skiouris said. “I think feeling more at ease in going out even for a brief dinner.”
And outdoors the same limitations apply just at up to 100% capacity. Restaurants like Lincoln Street Kitchen and Cocktails along with Craft Tasting Room are both making the most of their outdoor spaces.
"We’ve renovated the patio and we’re going to renovate the beer garden in a few weeks just because we think outdoor seating is going to continue to be more and more important," Lincoln Street Kitchen and Cocktails co-owner Alyson Davis said.
Bars next step of reopening
Jackie DeLoach, the owner of Hattie’s Tap & Tavern, has been waiting for this night for more than a year.
“Oh I haven't been able to slow down the last couple of days,” DeLoach said. "You have to hire extra people, getting the place situated to where we can be at 50% capacity."
It will be the first time since March 2020 that her bar is open till 2 a.m.
“It’ll be hard," she said. "I personally am not ready to stay up until 2 a.m. I’ve been going to bed at like 9 (p.m.)"
She is slowly transitioning into the new guidelines. DeLoach said Hattie’s Tap & Tavern will only be open till 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and closing at midnight the rest of the week for now.
Even though restrictions are being eased on capacity limits and hours for bars, DeLoach said the rules aren’t going away. Customers will still have to wear masks when not seated, social distancing will be followed, and hand sanitizer is at the center of the tables.
“I've been promoting to follow the guidelines for a really long time, and I'm not going to be the place that shows up with pictures all over the Internet and everything saying that we're not following the guidelines,” DeLoach added.
Tommy’s Pub is also easing into the new rules.
"We're going to probably stay open until only midnight,” Jamie Starks, owner of Tommy’s Pub, said. “I'm not going to, we're not going to stay open till two o'clock in the morning. There's no need for that right now. You know, we want to provide a continued safe environment for all of our patrons."
While bars like Tommy's Pub and Hattie’s Tap & Tavern can only increase to 50% capacity, other establishments that serve alcohol, like breweries, wineries, and distilleries, can now open to 75% indoors and 100% outdoors.
Starks said it has been frustrating that all establishments that serve alcohol haven’t been treated the same.
"If selling spirits makes us so much more dangerous, then why are distilleries, why are they open and allowed to do more than what we could?” Starks added. “I mean, if that's the case, then the distilleries should have been closed, too."
The bar was shut down to guests from mid-March 2020 till it was allowed to reopen outdoors only at 30% capacity in October. Recently it was allowed to open indoors at 30% capacity.
“It’s frustrating. It’s absolutely frustrating. I mean, I’ve had to turn away customers here, regular customers who I’ve known for years because oh, we’re at capacity right now,” Starks said. “I’m sorry guys you can’t come here. But where do they go? They went to other places that were jam-packed, like completely slam full of people.”
Starks believes his bar can be just as safe as other establishments that are allowed to open at a higher capacity.
“We’re just going to do what’s right,” Starks said.
Next steps for museums
Museums are on the list of venues that can open at 100% capacity under the new Executive Order.
The Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph plan to increase capacity at the locations to 75% capacity for now to maintain a comfortable six-foot social distance between individuals or groups.
"What we want is for the public to feel comfortable coming back, to feel excited about coming back and to see everything that the museum, that we've been working on,” Caroline Portillo, director of marketing for The Mint Museum, said. “It's been a busy year."
The added capacity at 75% translates to about 2,000 people at the Mint Museum Uptown.
Portillo said safety precautions will still be in place throughout the museum. These include hand sanitizing stations and reminders from Queen Charlotte at the entrance to wear a mask and social distance.
"It's not a congested vibe, so people I think naturally feel comfortable coming back to museums,” Portillo said.
Portillo also recommends guests take advantage of the timed ticketing online to plan out their visit.
This weekend, the museum locations are offering admission specials as restrictions are eased. There will be half-price admission at Mint Museum Uptown on Sunday and free admission on Sunday at Mint Museum Randolph.
Mint Museum Randolph is hosting LOCAL/STREET, a pop-up showcase of 40 artists of color from the Charlotte area, this weekend. The installation was organized by artist and teacher Carla Aaron-Lopez, and the featured art ranges from digital illustrations of Afrofuturism to photographs of trips across the Atlantic.
The Randolph location is also having a Party in the Park on Sunday. It's the first in a new outdoor event series in the park area of Mint Museum Randolph. There will be live music, food trucks, cocktails on the lawn, and free admission all day.
"This is a great time for us to be easing restrictions,” Portillo said. “People want to get out. They want to be out of the house."
Discovery Place in Charlotte is also taking a conservative approach as it increases capacity.
President and CEO of Discovery Place Catherine Wilson Horne said in a statement, “We are pleased that Gov. Cooper has recognized the ability for museums like Discovery Place to provide safe experiences during this challenging time. All four Discovery Place museums reopened in September 2020 and we have been successful in providing a safe, educational and fun option for our community. From the start, we enforced mask wearing and required the advance purchase of tickets for specific entry times. We also have taken a conservative approach on capacity, choosing to allow fewer visitors than we are permitted to by the state, and we will continue to do so to ensure the safety of our guests while maintaining high levels of visitor satisfaction.”
The Schiele Museum in Gastonia plans to open on March 27 at 100% capacity.
“We are excited by this news” said Dr. Ann Tippitt, executive director of the Schiele Museum. “The lifting of capacity restrictions relieves the burden of turning people away if they did not purchase tickets in advance.”