Local Businesses Begin Road To Normalcy As Restrictions Ease

CONNECTICUT — After more than a year of urging customers to wear a mask and keep their distance inside and outside in light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, local businesses and other establishments in town are moving toward a greater sense of normalcy this week as various restrictions that have been in place since March 2020 begin to ease.

Starting Wednesday, a mask will no longer be required outdoors in Connecticut, and only those not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will be required to wear them indoors. The state is also lifting all social distancing protocols, inside and out, as well as curfews.

Businesses, state and local government offices have the option of keeping the mandate in place. Gov. Ned Lamont first announced his plans to lift the restrictions in April.

See also: Here's Where CT Still Requires Masks, Distancing As of May 19

In Darien, New Canaan and Westport, a number of business owners said this week they will be taking a cautious approach to this reopening of sorts.

Burgers, Shakes & Fries, Darien

Kory Wollins, the owner of Burgers, Shakes & Fries in Darien, said his team was playing it by ear while continuing to operate the way they have throughout the entire coronavirus crisis, with a continued emphasis on making sure all of their customers are completely comfortable.

"It's kind of business as usual for us," Wollins said. "We're doing what makes the customer base feel comfortable. So if they're comfortable not wearing a mask, we respect that. If they're comfortable wearing a mask, then we respect that too. We're really not trying to alienate our customer base, because they've been super supportive."

Wollins noted he plans to continue wearing a mask for now, as will his entire staff, and they will continue to sterilize everything in the same manner as they have over the past year. BSF will also continue offering curbside delivery and accommodate anyone who wishes to sit further away from other customers if needed.

"Our objective throughout this entire thing has been to be there for our customer base in whatever way we need to be there for them," Wollins said. "If that meant curbside pickup or that meant contactless delivery or that meant eating outside...all we did was try to accommodate them to the best of our abilities, and certainly to the best of their comfort level. We're going to be there for them the same way we have been through this whole thing."

The White Buffalo, New Canaan

At the White Buffalo in New Canaan, manager Rich Hewitt said he was excited to get things back to the way they used to be before last March, albeit in a safe manner.

"We pretty much are going [mostly] back to normal," Rich Hewitt, the bar's manager, said. "The majority of our customers have pretty much been wanting that for a while, especially around here in this town. We pretty much took down all our plexiglass, and I have every seat in the place back at the bar, the tables, everything."

Customers who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear a mask, Hewitt said. He also noted that the tables inside the White Buffalo have always been close to 6 feet apart.

Additionally, the majority of the White Buffalo's business is outside, where their tables are very spread out, allowing customers to hang out in whichever manner they feel comfortable, Hewitt said.

"Most people do want to sit outside," Hewitt said, "and everything is spaced out there that if anybody feels firmly on still sticking to the distancing and everything, it's easy enough for them to sit outside too."

According to Hewitt, customers at the White Buffalo on Wednesday appeared to be happy.

"We're more of a hangout bar," Hewitt said. "People wanted to stand up, hang out, just like back before the pandemic where you could stand around without having to be forced to be in a seat and everything. We've always been kind of like that hangout bar, so the past year was difficult, but now people are much happier that we've gotten to that point over the past couple of weeks outside, and now inside you can pretty much see the same thing."

Mystic Market, Westport

According to David Griswold Jr., the general manager of Mystic Market in Westport, his store now has more customers coming in to sit down and eat, however curbside pick up and delivery options are still in place.

As of Wednesday, fully vaccinated customers and employees no longer have to wear a mask.

"We asked all of the employees to bring in their vaccination cards, and we scanned those," Griswold said. "Those employees that have proof of their vaccination can take off their mask. The ones who do not have proof can't take off their mask. As far as guests, we just stopped interacting with them. If they come in without a mask, we kind of just leave it be. We don't engage with them anymore."

Griswold said there were more people without masks inside the store on Wednesday.

"There were people that came in and saw that they didn't have to or that we weren’t asking them to put it on anymore," Griswold said, "so they would have a moment...a gleeful scene about it. And there were obviously people who had one on and went about their business."

The team at the market will also be setting up more tables and stools inside this week, however they will continue to offer a number of outdoor seating options as well.

As the market cautiously steps into this next phase toward hopeful normalcy, Griswold noted he appreciated the guests who have continued to support the market during the past year.

"It's been difficult at times," Griswold said. "I also really hope that people recognize that in the hardest part of the pandemic, we did everything that we could to change our business model or what we sold to meet the needs of the community in their time of need, and I just hope that people know that's what we will always plan to do for this community no matter what...it's been our pleasure to serve this community through this time."