COVID-19 Reopenings: SF Restaurants, Bars, and Fitness Studios Excitedly Anticipate Return To Yellow Tier
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Business owners have been waiting six months for San Francisco to return to the least restrictive COVID-19 Yellow Yier.
Now, the city is poised to advance into it this week. The state's announcement is expected on Tuesday, and if it is a go, new guidelines will be effective Friday May 7.
The promise of moving to Yellow has businesses excited about a rush of activity.
Newly opened restaurant and bar Wilder at the corner of Fillmore and Greenwich Streets in the Marina said it timed its grand opening with the city's potential loosening of restrictions.
Wilder serves an eclectic mix of international comfort food, brunch, and specialty drinks like the Smoky George.
"The city's definitely getting a lot busier. We've noticed, so we decided to do this week April 30, just to get under our feet, get kind of used to it, because we know it's only going to get busier," said Bar Manager Sean Doolan. "And the Yellow Tier is going to happen. We're hopefully going to open up Westwood as well, so then we'll have both spots."
Before Wilder's debut, it's sister restaurant and bar Westwood had been operating as a pop-up in its space.
Under the Yellow Tier, bars will be allowed to operate indoors at 25% capacity without having to serve food. Restaurants will remain at 50% capacity indoors, but tables can have up to 8 people. Gyms and fitness studios can open indoors at 50 percent capacity.
That's a big deal for Lagree Fit 415, a full body Pilates type workout space in Mission Bay that has been fully closed since November. They are waiting until the Yellow Tier to officially reopen.
"I'm just waiting for that energy to come back into the studio, the loud music, the community that we've built, and you know, you get a really good workout here in 40 minutes," said owner Katie Lyons. "This is not something you can do online, so I hope people are going to come back and be very excited to get back on the machine."
Lyons says she's removed a few machines to create plenty of room for social distancing, and will start with smaller classes. Temperature checks and masks will be required. Lyons has also upgraded the ventilation system.
"More people are getting vaccinated. I think they're going to feel comfortable coming into the studio and we can open at a higher percentage now, so financially it makes a lot more sense," she said.
To date, 48% of San Francisco residents over 16 have been fully vaccinated.
