Starting on Monday, several local Beaufort restaurants started to reopen their outside dining areas after S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifted the order that has kept restaurants all over limited to only being able to offer takeout and curbside delivery.
Until Monday, restaurants haven’t seen a customer in a seat since the governor’s March 18th order.
That hurts. That’s nearly 2 full months.
We found that some have reopened their outside dining areas, and some haven’t.
On Bay Street, Panini’s on the Waterfront has reopened its expansive River Deck and Hemmingway’s has reopened after having gone through some nice renovations and increasing its outside dining capacity. The outside seating area at Common Ground Coffeehouse has been reopened as well. And, up the street on the bluff, Herban Market & Cafe has reopened its outdoor seating area as well.
A sign on the door at Luther’s Rare & Well Done says its reopening Wednesday, and Q on Bay says they are going to wait a few weeks to reopen.
“We’re following the strict covid-19 protocol for safety in our dining area,” Panini’s owner Paul Thompson said. “Our entire staff must wear masks at all times and change gloves frequently during a shift. Our tables are spaced 8 feet apart and all surfaces including tables, seats and chairs are thoroughly sanitized after each party leaves,” he said.
Outside of downtown, other restaurants across the Beaufort area have also reopened outside dining, or are nearing their reopening date.
On Lady’s Island, Brody’s Bar & Grill, Mameem and Maudie’s Cafe, Q’s Chicken Shack and The Fillin’ Station have all reopened for outside dining.
In Port Royal, we saw that FishCamp on 11th Street and Fat Patties have reopened their outside dining areas as of Wednesday as well, and The Cracked Egg is opening their expanded outside area on Saturday just in time for a big Lowcountry Boil. Also in Port Royal, The Carolina Tavern, Agave Mexican Grill and the new Marker 244 are all open as of Wednesday.
On St. Helena Island, the Johnson Creek Tavern opened its outside area on Monday and Foolish Frog will reopen it’s deck on Friday.
For safety purposes, all restaurants opening outside must follow very strict protocols and protections, or they can be asked to close again until those regulations can be met.
Guidelines for restaurants reopening outside seating include spacing tables a minimum of 8 feet from each other; limiting table groups to 8 individuals; maintaining strict social/physical distancing guidelines; sanitizing all tables, chairs, and seats after every customer.
Reopening to some capacity is undoubtedly a blessing for our local restaurant owners and employees.
We’re sure that more local Beaufort restaurants have opened their outside dining areas, so be sure to check on your favorites and find out if you can go and grab a bite.
Please remember that all restaurants who have been open for takeout and curbside delivery are still open offering those services, even the ones who have reopened their outside areas.
We’re glad to see Beaufort restaurants reopen outside. Please continue to be supportive of them. We know we will.
See more local Beaufort SC news that matters.
Read governor McMaster’s Order reopening S.C. restaurants to outside dining.
