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to provide you with a series of guidelines that can help keep you safe and protected when you visit us. When you follow these rules, you are protecting yourself and everybody else at the restaurant and avoiding unnecessary complications at the same time.
Masks are a Necessity
As more and more restaurants open up across the nation, they ask that their patrons wear face masks when they visit. This situation has caused some annoyance and even anger among some people. This reaction is unfair and immature because masks are shown to protect against the spread of the virus. You won't be protecting yourself and others in the facility, including the waiters and waitresses, the chefs, and the owners who may be on site.
Typically, people must wear masks when they walk in the door and wear them while they are taken to the table. The etiquette after this point will vary depending on the restaurant. Some will allow you to take them off while you're at your table, allowing you to breathe and eat with ease. Others may ask that you keep them on until your food comes and whenever you leave the table, such as when you go to the bathroom or when you are leaving or going to pay.
Whatever the case, it is wise for you to follow these rules, or you may be asked to leave the restaurant. This may seem unfair, but think about the cooks and the waitresses – they are all wearing masks for 8-12 hours per day as they work. They don't want to wear them any more than you do and are just as uncomfortable and unhappy with them. So wearing one for 30-60 minutes is, by no means, as demanding or as tricky as possible.
Stay Six-Feet Away
Another factor that you're going to have to consider when visiting restaurants during Covid-19 is the six-foot minimum distance between you and others. You may wonder how this distance is possible in a restaurant setting. Most are closing off half of their tables – one in between each open table – to create a range of six feet. And they are limiting the number of people who can come, usually by half or so, to ensure that they don't get too packed.
And you're likely to see markers on the floors near various areas, such as when waiting to get in the door, when paying, or standing in line for the bathroom, that showcases how far you need to stand from people. Please pay attention to these markets because they help protect people from getting sick or exchanging diseases throughout the stay. Trust us when we say that these limitations are necessary and are something that many facilities struggle to enforce.
Just think about what these restrictions are likely doing to the bottom line of these businesses. Many run on a pretty thin profit line and need to be filled up pretty frequently to stay open. And by cutting off half their tables and limiting who can visit, they are decreasing their chances of success even further. But most are happy to try them out because they know that they are necessary to protect the public and ensure that they have customers in the future.
Be Prepared for Other Changes
The two changes above are not the only thing that you're likely to see when you visit restaurants during Covid-19. Many are taking a lot of extra steps to ensure that they are safe places to visit. For example, many are now printing one-time-use menus that get thrown away after they are used. This may seem wasteful, but it helps to eliminate the potential germ risk of menus – if you think about it, sharing these menus is unsanitary and may cause issues if not properly managed.
By contrast, some facilities may coat their reusable menus in plastic and clean and sterilize them. This process may add a few extra minutes to the seating process, but it is more than worth the protection it offers. By cleaning the menus in this way, restaurants cut down on potential infections and eliminate unnecessary waste, ensuring that their customers are protecting and providing a useful level of menu control that keeps everybody happy.
These menu changes are far from the only issues you're likely to experience. For example, you may find that the bathroom is guarded and limited to only a handful of people, perhaps even one. You may even have to get a key to unlock the bathroom and only go in when it isn't being used. This change may be very frustrating, but remember – it is for your protection and will ensure that you are okay and safe from Covid-19.
Consider Calling Ahead to Set Up Reservations
Lastly, it is essential to start calling restaurants ahead of time to set up a reservation. You should maybe start thinking about this even at places you've never had to get a reservation before. There are a few reasons you should take this step. Many restaurant facilities are experiencing a large influx of potential customers who are forced to wait a long and in potentially crowded lines, setting up a considerable risk of infection.
You may not need to call ahead days in advance or anything like that – you may need to call ahead earlier in the day to see what kind of reservation situation is necessary. And remember – be as punctual as possible. Being "fashionably late" in the era of Covid-19 is only going to increase the risk of spreading this condition and making care much worse. So please show up on time and with your full party to avoid any issue with this situation.
All of these necessities may seem to take the fun out of dining out. However, if you embrace them and get into the spirit of the situation, you can still enjoy yourself. Just remember – we are all in this fight together. And if you are inconvenienced a little, your favorite dining spot is even more so. Therefore, it is vital to keep this in mind and be willing to do what is necessary to help them and others in this troubling time of need.
Visit Us for a Safe Dining Experience
At Sam's Pizza, you'll not only get one of the safest dining experiences in the area but also pizza that is among the tastiest and most beloved in the area. We are taking steps that many restaurants in Iowa City, Iowa are not, going even further to protect you from injury. Our duty, we feel, is not only to provide you with great pizza but to make sure that you are safe whenever you visit our facility.