To reopen — or not to reopen?

Within hours of the June 17 announcement that indoor dining could resume in San Mateo County, Bistro Vida was serving diners inside the Menlo Park French restaurant for the first time in three months.

Owner Ali Elsafy said about 20 people dined inside that night, some of whom explicitly asked to eat indoors. He said it was awkward at first, as waiters and customers navigated social distancing requirements, but he was eager to reopen the Parisian bistro-style dining room. For him, takeout and eating outside just aren't the same experiences.

"The whole ambiance of the restaurant is inside," Elsafy said. "Our bread and butter is the inside."

The San Mateo County June 17 health order gave the green light for many businesses to reopen under certain restrictions, including dine-in restaurants, hair salons and gyms. The announcement came less than two weeks after the county allowed outdoor dining to resume.

"We are moving away from opening businesses according to certain categories and instead focusing on behaviors and practices," San Mateo County Health Officer Scott Morrow said in a press release. "As we ease restrictions, the power to control the spread of the virus lies with individuals and communities. Collective behavior will determine our destiny. If enough people, businesses, or organizations in the community do not follow the protective recommendations, the virus may spread with abandon."

The ease in dining restrictions was met with a mix of excitement and apprehension by San Mateo County restaurant owners. Some were eager to reopen after months of temporary closures, including the Dutch Goose in Menlo Park, which announced excitedly on social media that it was "throwing open our doors" for indoor dining on June 18.

Manuel Martinez, chef-owner of La Viga and LV Mar in Redwood City, said he plans to

gradually reopen both restaurants' dining rooms, starting first with tables by windows.

"This is what we've been waiting for (for a) long time!" he wrote in an email.

Other owners, however, said they are in no rush to start serving customers indoors. Many are still getting their arms around outdoor dining protocols.

"Absolutely not," said Jesse Cool, owner of the Flea St. Cafe in Menlo Park, when asked if she's ready to open the longtime restaurant's dining room. "We don't quite trust that this is over."

Flea St. is taking a hyper-conservative approach to outdoor dining. There are no plates, silverware, paper menus or traditional wait service. Instead, when diners sit down outside they get a bag with placemats, napkins, glass mason jars for water and compostable plates. Servers bring out the food (which has already been paid for online) and put it on stands next to tables. Customers then put it on their tables themselves. The water jars are sanitized outside before being brought into the kitchen to be washed.

When customers go inside to use the restroom, they must wear a mask and a staff member also checks their temperature. Cool said her primary concern is keeping her staff safe and healthy.

Flea St., which before the pandemic had never offered takeout in its 40-year history, now relies on a thriving to-go business. Cool urged diners to continue to order takeout from restaurants even as dining restrictions loosen. With four socially distanced tables outside, Flea St. can only offer one seating in a single night.

"I would say to everybody: Enjoy dining out if you're comfortable, but all the restaurants need the to-go business to ensure survival," Cool said. "It is what's keeping us alive. It's not the table service."

Greg Kuzia-Carmel, chef-partner at Camper in Menlo Park, also said they're taking their time to figure out indoor dining, including rehiring and training staff. They only recently opened Camper's outdoor patio on Santa Cruz Avenue. They're logging employees' temperatures, installing physical barriers and deep cleaning the restaurant every night.

"We are going to take it slow," Kuzia-Carmel said of indoor dining. "We subscribe to the notion of 'Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.'"

Bacchus Management Group is "slowly and carefully opening" its San Mateo County restaurants for indoor dining: The Village Pub and The Village Bakery in Woodside on June 26 and Selby's in Redwood City on July 7. They will have QR code menus as well as disposable menus or ones that are laminated and sanitized between every use. Employees will wear masks at all times, among other health precautions.

"We're not racing to reopen, as we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the safety of our staff and guests," said Karey Walker, Bacchus' director of public relations. "Diners can expect to see our restaurants reimagined."

Wursthall's popular beer-garden style dining room in downtown San Mateo, which pre-pandemic was usually full of people sitting at communal tables, also won't be reopening any time soon.

"We don't see it being a major revenue stream for now and we don't want to offer it until we are sure we can do it safely," chef-partner Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote in an email. "We are instead focusing on other efforts such as outdoor dining, retail and takeout."

To reopen for outdoor dining, Wursthall set up large tables and benches outside in the style of an open-air beer garden, Lopez-Alt said.

At Bistro Vida, Elsafy has instructed his masked wait staff to spend as little time as possible interacting with diners at the indoor tables, which are spaced 6 feet apart. There are no more hugs or handshakes when regulars come in.

"There's no more chatting," he said. "It's kind of short and dry."

Elsafy is doing his best to retain Bistro Vida's ambiance and hospitality while adhering to ever-shifting public health requirements. He's seen local restaurants install plain plexiglass sneeze guards between tables, which to him feels like "you're having dinner at Wells Fargo bank."

He's instead talking to a company in New York about creating custom Plexiglas dividers etched with images of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Coeur and attached to wooden stands stained to match the restaurant's decor.

"I'm glad that we got to open," Elsafy said. "It's been a tough time for everybody. Hats off for everybody in this business for trying to hold on. It's our livelihood."

San Mateo County's new health order does not include specific guidance for restaurants. All businesses, including restaurants, must limit the number of people who come inside to ensure they can properly social distance. People who go inside businesses must wear masks unless "as necessarily required by the businesses operation (e.g., while eating)," the health order reads. Employees must wear face coverings, including when they're working in any space where food is prepared or packaged for sale or distribution.

Businesses must provide hand sanitizer, regularly disinfect surfaces and offer contactless payment systems — and if not feasible, disinfect pens and styluses after each use.

"For our restaurants and other small businesses crippled by the economic impacts of this pandemic, this is the best news imaginable," San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said of the new health order. "It will be a balancing act between preserving public health and kickstarting our local economy. There are risks with every step we take and it will take all of us to take personal responsibility to stop the spread of the virus."