‘Everyone’s loving being back in here again’

Friday was the first day of phase two of Alaska’s attempt to reopen its economy, and businesses owners and customers alike are cautiously optimistic about this next step.

Part of phase two allows restaurants to expand their dine-in capacity to 50% of their maximum occupancy, and customers can now come on a walk-in basis without the need for a reservation. Louie’s Restaurant in Kenai had a handful of people dining in Friday, mostly in the booths along the walls of the dining area to help maintain distance between customers.

Duane Bannock, manager of Louie’s as well as the Uptown Motel and Back Door Sports Bar, said that it’s been a smooth transition so far.

“We’re very proud of the work that we’ve done in the off-time, including some much-needed remodels and upgrades that are going to be visible when guests come back to either one of our establishments,” Bannock said on Friday.

Phase two also gives bars the ability to operate at 25% capacity, so the Back Door has a few bar stools set up at the counter, as does Louie’s. Bannock said that they’ve also eliminated the requirement for reservations, and said that many customers have already expressed their excitement at being able to come back.

“The response has been great,” Bannock said. “I’m fond of saying that we have the best customers in the world.”

Corbin and Tanya Cooley were enjoying lunch at Louie’s on Friday, and they said that they were happy to finally be eating out somewhere again, and noted that Louie’s was one of the few places that actually decided to open today.

“We’re tired of eating McDonald’s,” Tanya said.

The Cooleys said they feel that the state should allow businesses to resume operations at 100%, because locally COVID-19 hasn’t made a big impact.

Becky and Greg McGahan were also eating at Louie’s on Friday, and they said that reopening things in phases seems like a good idea.

“They need to ease into it, but I do think they’re doing a good job so far,” Greg said.

In Soldotna, Kenai River Brewing also had its doors open for dine-in on Friday, and owner Doug Hogue said that the slow transition back to normalcy has gone about how he expected it.

Hogue said that when the state rolled out phase one of the Reopen Alaska Responsibly Plan, restaurants were allowed to have dine-in customers at just 25% capacity. Kenai River Brewing stuck to takeout orders only during that phase, because Hogue said that operating at 25% just wouldn’t have been a feasible way to run his business.

With the rollout of phase two, Hogue can fill half of his dining area and only needs to space the tables 6 feet apart instead of 10. At 50%, Hogue said, he can have about 35 people inside. Restaurants can also have up to 20 tables outside as long as they are spaced 6 feet apart, so Hogue has expanded his outdoor seating options in order to accommodate more people.

Reservations are no longer needed, but customers at KRB are being asked to write down their name and phone number in a log when they come in. Hogue said that this is part of the guidelines laid out by the Department of Health and Social Services, and it ensures that the public health nurses who conduct contact tracing investigations can reach out to people easily in the event of an outbreak.

Hogue said that KRB will only be offering dine-in services on Friday and Saturday for the time being. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will still be takeout only.

“We want to make sure we’re covering all our bases with everything and can provide a good experience for everybody,” Hogue said. “If the weather is good we’ve got lots of options, but if the weather is not good and we can only seat 30 people, it’s a difficult scenario and you could end up turning a lot of people away.”

Ritchie Hodgin and Dwayne Benton were enjoying a beer and fries at KRB on Friday, an experience they said they had missed for the past two months.

“This is pretty much our second home,” Hodgin said. “We’d come here to the pickup window every once in a while, picking up six-packs and food. It wasn’t ideal, but these guys got it together here.”

Merab Davis and Kyle Millington were also enjoying lunch at KRB on Friday and said that they were happy to be back at one of their favorite local establishments.

“We actually just found out today that they were open and immediately said ‘we’re going,’” Millington said.

“No hesitation,” Davis added.

Millington said that he felt moving into phase two was the right move by the state because many of the small businesses around here have been hurt by having to temporarily close their doors.

“It’s hard for these small businesses to try and stay open and keep their employees around,” Millington said. “I think it’s kind of too early to say if it’s too early to reopen, you know, but as of this moment, let’s try it and see what happens.”

Davis moved into the area from Washington a few weeks ago and recently finished her 14-day self-isolation that Alaska is requiring of anyone entering the state. She said that her experience in Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula has been much different than her experience in the Lower 48 when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was really way more scary down there,” Davis said. “Here everyone seems a lot more calm about it, everyone’s wearing their masks, you know, doing their thing. The airports were dead, flights are dead, but since I got here it’s been pretty normal.”

Taleasha Shane, a server at KRB, said that the transition back to dine-in service has been good, but it’s not quite the same as it was before.

“It’s been different but it’s been very nice,” Shane said. “Just seeing the customers again and having people in here and not just through the window real quick. It’s been really positive.”

Only being at half capacity and not serving as many customers at once has been one noticeable difference, Shane said, but some of her regulars have already returned to show their appreciation.

“I think everyone’s loving being back in here again,” Shane said. “Everyone’s excited to finally be able to sit down inside and have a glass of beer and a really good burger and see their friends. Even if it is from 6 feet away, it’s still nice to see those people that you haven’t seen in two months.”

Restaurants weren’t the only businesses that were able to resume some of their operations on Friday.

Phase two also allows gyms and other fitness centers to operate at 25% capacity, and outdoor classes can be held with up to 20 people as long as distance is maintained.

Forever Dance Alaska, a dance school located about halfway between Kenai and Soldotna, was able to hold a few classes on Friday for the first time in two months. Owner Darcy Swanson said that her students were very happy to see each other in person again, although resisting the urge to hug each other was difficult.

Swanson said her dance instructors have been posting lessons every week online for their students, which has been a big emotional support for many of her students during this time, but Swanson said that the online approach just isn’t the same.

“It’s been quite a learning curve,” Swanson said. “If we never see another Zoom class again we’ll be happy.”

On Friday, Forever Dance held three classes with about 45 total students. All of the classes were held outside in the parking lot of the studio. Chairs were set up 6 feet apart as makeshift barres for the ballet classes, and the students wiped down and sanitized the chairs in between classes. Swanson said that as much as she’d like to go back to the way things were, her priority is keeping the kids safe and healthy, and they will likely continue with just outdoor classes for the remainder of the season.

Swanson said that they do have an end-of-season recital planned for May 26, but it will be conducted a little differently this year. There will be no audience, and each class will enter the building one at a time to perform their pieces onstage. The performance of each class will be recorded, and DVD copies will be sent to the families of all the students. Swanson is also considering streaming the performances on YouTube or Facebook so that families can watch them live, even if they have to do so from the studio parking lot.

“We can’t wait, and we want our parents to feel confident that we’re doing everything we can to keep their kids safe,” Swanson said. “I think this recital will definitely be one that we’ll remember forever.”