What might our ‘new normal’ look like when dining out?

When restaurants open back up, don’t be alarmed if the servers are wearing masks.

The owner of Ridgway Bar and Grill in Naples said they’ll take all precautions to keep their employees and customers healthy.

“Our hope is by the 1st of June that both restaurants will be open for table service …we expect that bars will not be open yet,” said Tony Ridgway.

When they are able to open back up, they’ll not be returning to their old ways.

“I would expect that you would walk into the front desk at Ridgway Bar and Grill and you would see somebody in a custom-made mask like that,” Ridgway said.

Experts say it’s important to follow the guidelines.

“We are kind of seeing the number of cases start to decline, but we can’t say oh, it’s over and go back to the way things used to be,” said Robert Hawkes, director of the physician assistant program at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Hawkes said social distancing will still need to happen. 

“Restaurants, when they open up, they will probably put a table between people to make sure there is enough distance.”

At Ridgway Bar and Grill, they’ll do a few other things as well.

“We will have individual menus that are pieces of paper that will be thrown away at the end of the night,” Ridgway said.

NCH Healthcare System also reminds people to bring a bottle of hand sanitizer wherever you go to use after touching any type of surface – and to not forget that customers can wear masks, too.