Friday Night In New Jersey Looks Like Something Out Of 2019 As Restrictions Eased
CINNAMINSON, N.J. (CBS) -- You can once again belly up to the bar in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy lifted the ban today on bar seating, which went into effect last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tonight may not be the evening for it but the limit for outdoor gatherings is now 500 people. What tonight was good for was a trip to the local watering hole.
Suddenly, a Friday night in 2021 looked like something out of 2019.
"To see this one step back to normal has just been incredible for us," Delran Mayor Gary Catrambone said.
Eyewitness News ran into the Delran mayor outside Throwbacks Bar on Route 130. Inside, regulars toasted to another round of eased COVID-19 restrictions. Bar seating can now resume.
"Watching the governor's messages like crazy just to be sure that the businesses that have worked so hard continue to get that extra boost and it looks like, God-willing, we are going to make it," Catrambone said.
A short ways north on 130 in Riverside is The Madison. They not only have a tavern on-site with bar seating, but on this evening, The Madison hosted Burlington Township's junior prom.
"We are ready to open up and we are raring to go," The Madison Operations Manager Thomas Stanimirov said.
The timing couldn't have been better as a part of the Friday restrictions being lifted, a dance floor was possible.
"They were so happy when we gave them the call. The dance floor arrived last night, was put in place right away and then this morning all we did was decorate and get it perfect for them," Stanimirov said.
Also as of today, tables indoors are no longer limited to eight people. Of course, social distancing and mask-wearing when not seated is still the standard.