CT Restaurant Association Asks For Limited Indoor Dining June 3

CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Restaurant Association along with more than 130 local business leaders have signed a letter asking Gov. Ned Lamont to allow half-capacity indoor dining starting on June 3.

“Governor Lamont is working hard to lead our state through this crisis, and he’s kept an open door to our industry,” said Scott Dolch, executive director of CRA. “We hope the proposed compromises we’ve put forward will be acceptable to him and his team, and that Connecticut’s local restaurant industry and the 160,000 people it employs will be protected and helped during this incredibly difficult period.”

Under current rules restaurants will be able to open May 20 for dine-in service in outdoor areas only. Lamont's administration is working with local zoning regulators to allow for unorthodox uses of space, such as putting dining tables in parking lots.

The 130 business owners that signed the letter said they would commit to additional safety procedures if limited indoor dining is allowed. They include no standing room or bar seating, implementing new technology for menus and payments to allow less physical contact and extensive cleaning between customer interactions. Shared condiments would also be eliminated.

Connecticut will begin to allow outdoor dining at restaurants starting May 20, but representatives of the Connecticut Restaurant Association say it won’t be enough to keep restaurant businesses afloat.

“We believe that limited, safe indoor dining is possible,” petition signers said in the letter. “As malls, hair salons and others are allowed to gradually begin indoor service, as they should be, it makes sense restaurants would also be allowed some limited indoor service.”

The full letter to Lamont can be read here.