What to Know
- Restaurants will be allowing dine-in services with up to 50 percent capacity in Miami, Hialeah and Miami Beach
- Hair salons will be opening in Miami Gardens with similar restrictions and safety protocols from the county and state.
- Miami Beach city commissioners have created a “MB standard” decal to indicate businesses that have had all their employees tested for the virus
After months of being closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, restaurants and hair salons reopened their doors Wednesday in cities across Miami-Dade County.
Restaurants will be allowing dine-in services with up to 50 percent capacity in Miami, Hialeah and Miami Beach while hair salons will be opening in Miami Gardens with similar restrictions and safety protocols from the county and state.
"Restaurants are a big part of our local economy, directly employing thousands of Miamians, and we are ready to begin carefully reopening them to dine-in customers," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “To that end, there are number of rules in place to help safeguard both restaurant employees and customers and limit the continued spread of COVID-19, which is still present in our community. I’m calling on all Miamians to do their part to follow these rules and keep each other safe."
Miami Gardens officials have not given an exact date for when dine-in services would resume in the city.
At Little Havana's famous Versailles restaurant, the security guard sprayed down everything, including doors, shelving, and anything that somebody could’ve touched.
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Coconut Grove’s popular Greenstreet Café also opened for breakfast Wednesday morning.
"It has been tough, we have had a good takeout system, Mother’s Day was huge but it is nowhere near as busy as it is during a normal brunch at Greenstreet on Sunday," manager Sevann Vignon said.
With road closures in Miami Beach, officials say businesses can use sidewalks and streets to better comply with those rules. The list of street closures includes:
- Washington Avenue between 7 Street and 16 Street will close Tuesday, May 26th.
- Ocean Drive from 5 Street to 15 Street has been closed since May 16th and will remain closed during this phase of reopening.
Miami Beach city commissioners have created a “MB standard” decal to indicate businesses that have had all their employees tested for the virus by June 8th or the date of reopening as well as provide monthly tests and daily screenings among other steps. Those businesses will be given a decal to place on display as well as be listed on the city’s website.
“Everybody’s a little uneasy, especially because we have to wear face masks while talking to guests. We have to stand about two and a half feet away from the guests just to take orders," said Jeffrey Holinkam the manager of Ocean 7 Cafe. "We have to be heavily, heavily sanitized, everything we touch we have to wash our hands.”
Miami Beach commissioners also agreed to reopen beaches and hotels beginning June 1st, a week after the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The beaches will reopen about two weeks after retail stores, hair salons and barber shops were allowed to open under Florida’s phase 1 plan.
