GREENSBORO, N.C. — Restaurants along with hair and nail salons are preparing for reopening but business owners say they still don't know what that looks like.
"You'd think with us this close to the deadline that they would tell us something so we can let the other staff know," said Ray Essa who owns Cafe' Pasta in Greensboro.
Restaurant owners like Essa said it's making it hard to plan schedules for eager employees or make reservations for hungry customers.
It also means shop owners are having to figure out social distancing guidelines on their own.
"We have a waitlist basically to call back people cause we don't know if it's gonna be [limited to] 25 or 50 percent [capacity]," said Essa.
The lack of answers is making some restaurants question whether Phase 2 will start on Friday or be pushed back.
"For me it's a coin toss. I have no idea whether it'll be something that they do or not," said Wes Wheeler who owns Undercurrent.
Wheeler intends to wait until June to reopen to dine-in services but wants to offer take-out when Phase 2 begins.
"I think with the public, the way that they're demanding it, I think it'll probably happen [Friday]. To what degree people accept it, I don't know," said Alex Amoroso who owns Cheesecakes by Alex.
Amoroso anticipates most customers will still carry out from his shop but will put out a few tables when allowed to reopen.
Downtown Greensboro Incorporated CEO Zack Matheny said he's surprised the Governor didn't announce guidelines for Phase 2 late last week or during a briefing Monday. Matheny's organization is working with downtown businesses to plan reopenings, even offering reopening kits with cleanliness supplies and masks.
Matheny said Downtown Greensboro is in talks with the city about closing downtown streets on the weekends to allow businesses to serve patrons in a wider, more socially distant area.
Other businesses included in Phase 2 such as hair salons said they have not gotten any guidance from the state on reopening either.
Governor Cooper's Office said it will release more information in the coming days and continues to monitor data.