Wayne Brewery Reacts To New Restrictions Amid Rising COVID Cases

WAYNE, NJ — Earlier this week, Gov. Phil Murphy clarified new regulations for bars, restaurants and other businesses as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rise across the state.

At Wayne's Seven Tribesmen Brewery, they're no stranger to restrictions, but were probably hoping they wouldn't have to deal with anymore.

The Wayne brewery opened at the end of May after the coronavirus delayed their original start date, and forced their grand opening to be take-out only.

Since, they'd been operating on a more-normal-but-still-not-normal manner, but admit that the restrictions will have less of an impact on them than other businesses. Or, at least they hope.

"We were closing at 11PM on Friday and Saturday and changed it to 10PM because of the newest 10PM restrictions," said marketing "shaman" Imre Varga, in an email to Patch. "The closing hours will have some impact, albeit not as much of an impact as with bars that usually close at 2AM."

The larger strain on breweries, Varga said, will actually be from the bars — their clients, in some instances — closing early.

"However, the bigger impact on breweries will probably be that bars closing earlier means they are selling less beer and buying fewer kegs. So it will impact distribution from that sense," he said.

Still, things could be worse for businesses, he thinks.

"In the end, the governor is doing what he feels is best to protect people’s health. I hope this allows us to stay open as we get into this wave of the pandemic. Open with restrictions is preferable to another shutdown," said Varga.

New regulations for restaurants, bars, clubs, lounges and casinos include:

• Businesses that serve food or drinks will not be able to operate their indoor premises between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
• Outdoor dining can continue after 10 p.m., as can takeout and delivery services.
• Casinos will not be able to serve food or drinks between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., except for room service delivered to guest rooms and takeout.
• Seating at the physical bar in the indoor areas of bars and restaurants will be prohibited during all operating hours.

Taking into account the impact this could have on restaurants with small seating areas, Murphy said these new restrictions allow groups to be seated at tables indoors that are closer than six feet together, but they must be separated by a barrier.

Additionally, restaurants can set up plastic domes outdoors, limited to one group inside each at a time.

READ MORE: Gov. Murphy Clarifies New Rules For NJ Indoor Dining, Barbers