When the South Main Greenville reopened its dining room Monday afternoon, restaurant manager Mamie Causey said, in many ways, it was as if nothing had changed. Many of Causey’s loyal customers sat at their favorite tables, ordering their favorite items from the menu.
Still, the day and the restaurant did have noticeable differences, which included face masks being worn by restaurant employees, the rearrangement of tables inside the dining room, and the non-stop attention to cleanliness seen throughout the building.
Last Thursday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Department of Human Services eased restrictions imposed weeks ago to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants are now allowed to have dining rooms open but they are limited to 50% customer capacity while also being required to provide hand sanitizer.
“The safety guidelines are not difficult to maintain,” Causey said. “We just have to take a few extra steps between customers to ensure everything is 100 percent sanitized and be diligent and aware of what is going on around us at all times. The most challenging thing has been acquiring all of the necessary items to do business. From sanitation and cleaning items, to food supply, the supply chains are incredibly disrupted, and many items are impossible to get. While menu items might not always be available, we have enough cleaning and sanitation supplies to last quite awhile.”
South Main is open Monday through Saturday. The restaurant serves lunch from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and dinner is served from 5-8 p.m.
While restaurants like South Main have opened their dining rooms, other local restaurants are being more cautious.
At Scoops Ice Cream and Grille, owner Kelly Blalack said her restaurant is going to wait a little longer to open its dining room back up.
Blalack said her restaurant is currently doing a heavy take-out business, which would make it difficult to open a limited dining room right now.
“The word we are using is ‘cautious,’” Blalack said. “We have a lot of older customers, and we just do not want to put their health at risk. Even if we opened just eight tables, we would have to monitor each one of them carefully to make sure they were safe.”
Scoops is open for take-out Monday through Saturday. It is serving lunch from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and dinner from 5-7:30 p.m.
Governor Reeves’ “safer at home” order remains in place until May 25. The order states people who are medically vulnerable should stay home. It suggests that people work from home, if possible, and maintain distance from others when they go out. It also limits the size of gatherings to 20 or fewer people.
Local hair salons and barbers also began clipping again.
Rena Buford’s loyal customers waited in the parking lot Tuesday morning to get a call from her that she is ready to cut their hair. Once they received the message, they left their cars and came in for a much-needed haircut.
Buford, owner of The Barbershop on Margaret Boulevard, described her morning as both hectic and joyful.
“We have to sanitize and clean so much, and we have to make sure it is safe before we allow another customer into our business,” she said.
But, Buford said she was also “incredibly happy” to start working again.
“This is my livelihood, and this is how I earn my income. Plus, it is so great to see my customers again. And, many of them really needed haircuts.”
Mississippi barbershops, beauty salons and gyms began reopening Monday for the first time in weeks, with limits on the numbers of customers and other restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Like Buford, local hair stylist Joyce Hunter-Knox said she cannot wait to open back up.
Knox, the owner of Mastercutters on Highway 1, said she plans to open her hair salon Thursday.
“Right now, I am just trying to work out how we are going to do this safely,” she said. “I am acquiring all the masks, gloves and hand sanitizer that I can. But, I am very excited to open back up. We are just taking a little time this week to make sure that we open up the right way.”
