Restaurants in Contra Costa County are preparing to open for outdoor dining after California's regional stay-at-home order was lifted Monday, but don’t expect all of them to be open right away.
At his Martinez restaurant Bar Cava Wine and Whiskey, owner Corey Katz printed out labels for whiskey tasting bottles.
"To get by and survive, I’ve been doing virtual wine tastings and whisky tastings," he described of the last several months.
He has been sending them out and doing tastings via Zoom.
Katz is excited to finally be able to do them in person again as outdoor dining reopens with modifications.
"I feel a sigh of relief," Katz said. "I feel that we accomplished something. I feel that I didn’t stay home." He’s referring to a lawsuit he filed in December against Contra Costa County, which was essentially dismissed after the county dropped their version of the stay-at-home order, itself preempted by the state’s more restrictive regional guidelines until Monday.
Outdoor dining is allowed again in the county and personal care services may also reopen. Still, Katz said it will take time to get his employees back and stock food, hoping to open by Wednesday for outdoor dining.
"We have to get staff," he said. "We have to buy products. We have to get ready. We have to keep cleaning. It might not be opportune, but we won guys."
