Indoor Dining Returns To NYC: Here’s What You Need To Know

NEW YORK CITY — Indoor dining is back on the menu in New York City.

Some gourmands — or maybe just people tired of chilly outdoor dining — are undoubtedly happy about Friday’s return of dining room gastronomic experiences. They may even have Valentine’s Day reservations booked.

But others are a little more wary about even limited, 25 percent capacity indoor dining at a time when coronavirus levels remain high and new variants continue to spread.

Patch has assembled a quick guide to the rules and ways to keep safe. Bon appetit!

What are the basics?

Restaurants can reopen their indoor dining rooms at 25 percent capacity starting Friday. They’re under limited hours and must close at 10 p.m., although they can continue takeout, delivery or pickup past then.

More information on the rules can be found here.

Will this affect outdoor dining?

Outdoor dining will continue for the 30,000-plus restaurants in the city’s Open Restaurants program.

Why are restaurants reopening? Is the pandemic over?

No, the coronavirus pandemic is very much still here. COVID-19 cases are dropping across New York, but New York City’s numbers remain above the state’s average.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the current downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases warrants reopening the city’s restaurants, which have struggled mightily in the pandemic and pressed for indoor dining’s return.

Restaurateurs even got the famously stubborn Cuomo to move up the return of indoor dining from Valentine’s Day to two days earlier.

Sounds like a win. But why do I feel uneasy?

As mentioned before, coronavirus cases remain high, and new variants are spreading.

Not everyone is a fan of restaurants reopening. City Council Member Mark Levine, who chairs its health committee, tweeted that the government could have offered restaurants financial assistance rather than reopening them.

“Instead we're letting them reopen indoor dining today — at a moment when there are 4-5k cases/day in NYC, 3,700 hospitalized, and rising # of variants here,” he wrote.

“The next few weeks will be perilous.”

On the other hand, Andrew Rigie, who heads the NYC Hospitality Alliance, has argued the recent rise in coronavirus cases occurred when indoor dining was closed. Staying inside living rooms rather than regulated restaurants is a greater risk of spreading the virus, he argued.

“Following the loss of 140,000 jobs over the past year due to the pandemic and related restrictions, and the science showing that highly regulated indoor dining hasn’t been the main source of infection, and now that restaurant workers are eligible for the vaccine, it’s critical that we move forward and support this vital industry,” Rigie said in a recent statement.

How do I check on COVID-19 levels?

New York City’s COVID-19 data page offers daily detailed data.

You can also subscribe to Patch for regular updates on where the coronavirus pandemic stands, as well as how government leaders are responding.