Norwalk Businesses Begin Road To Normalcy As Restrictions Ease

NORWALK, CT — 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 Norwalk, various business owners said this week they will be taking a cautious approach to this reopening of sorts.

At Stew Leonard's on Westport Avenue, customers who are fully vaccinated and are comfortable shopping without a mask are free to do so, according to Director of Public Relations Meghan Bell.

Customers who are not fully vaccinated are asked to continue wearing a mask at the store. Employees at the store will continue wearing masks for at least the next few weeks, Bell said.

"When the mask mandate was first issued last year, I think the Leonard family was really quick to react," Bell said. "Right away we asked our customers to wear a mask and asked our team members to wear masks. I feel like we were leaders in it. Now I think we're kind of lagging behind a little bit. We're going to be laggers. We're going to take a wait and see approach."

According to Bell, the store's goal is to keep Stews a safe place to shop and work, so the team will continue monitoring the situation most days to see how things are going.

"We took the signage down asking our customers to shop with a mask," Bell said, "because we're seeing that as sort of a personal choice if you're vaccinated and you feel comfortable doing it."

Bell noted portions of the store have been slowly reopening to the way they were prior to March 2020, including the return of their self-serve coffee bar and pick-your-own bagel section. The store is even hoping to bring back its beloved free samples some day.

"Wouldn’t that be great? I’m sure everybody misses walking through Stews and enjoying all those free samples," Bell said. "It's just that we're doing it slowly...we're following the state and local guidelines and we don't want to move too fast. We want to make sure people feel good about shopping at Stews."

Restaurants React

A similar approach has been adopted at Letizia's Pizza on Main Avenue. Co-owner Danny Segers said the pizzeria is "taking it day by day" and following state and local safety guidelines.

Customers who want to wear a mask are free to do so, however it is not mandatory for those who are fully vaccinated, Segers said.

"Obviously if you still want to wear a mask, feel free," Segers said, "but if you're fully vaccinated, we're not going to make you. We, however, for the time being are going to continue wearing masks here as employees."

Segers said Letizia's employees will continue wearing masks through the end of May, then talk with some people in the industry and see what they are doing to get a feel for how to proceed next month.

"Obviously it's new for everybody this whole thing," Segers said, "so we're just trying to get a feel for what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks. This is day one."

One big takeaway from the past year the restaurant will continue to observe is offering hand sanitizer for customers. The team has also decided to continue offering packets of parmesan cheese and oregano instead of brining shakers back to the tables.

Still, there are some notable changes inside that should bring customers a greater sense of normalcy.

"We had big plexiglass in front of the register, and we took that down [Wednesday]," Segers said. "One of our regular customers walked in and you could see a huge smile on his face just noticing that the plexiglass is gone. It's almost like we're sort of getting back to normal now, you know? It’s a good feeling, so hopefully everything sort of keeps going the way it's going, and in a couple months we won't really have to worry about anything."

At Garden Catering, a family-run chain with a location on Westport Avenue in Norwalk, most employees are already fully vaccinated, according to co-owner Tina Carpenteri. Nonetheless, all employees will continue wearing masks inside the store as part of their measured approach to reopening.

Starting Wednesday, customers who come in without a mask on will be asked to step outside with an employee who will take their order, Carpenteri said. The store's dining room and lobby areas will remain closed for the time being.

"We want to give everyone a little bit of time to get used to this," Carpenteri said, "and our staff the opportunity to get used to the new guidance and guidelines from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]."

Starting June 1, Garden Catering will allow for in-person ordering and customers will have the option of wearing a mask at that point, however employees will continue wearing masks, Carpenteri said.

The restaurant's lobby areas won't necessarily be fully open on June 1, so customers will enter the store to place their order, then wait outside until their order is ready.

If everything runs smoothly over the next few weeks, the store may look into how customers can wait in the lobby area or sit down and eat inside.

"For now," Carpenteri said, "we just feel most comfortable with moving forward in this manner."

At the Aquarium

Over in South Norwalk, the Maritime Aquarium will continue following state and CDC guidelines, according to aquarium spokesperson Dave Sigworth.

Masks will still be required for all children between the ages of 2 and 12, as well as anyone over the age of 12 who is not fully vaccinated. The aquarium also strongly encourages vaccinated guests and staff to continue wearing a mask, Sigworth said.

"Based on the new guidelines, we are easing our protocols on social distancing," Sigworth said. "Aside from removing signs throughout the galleries that encouraged social distancing, this also means that we will allow full capacity in our new 169-seat 4D theater. We had been limiting capacity to 50 people, with parties spaced apart in rows, and seating only in every other row."

According to Sigworth, the aquarium will keep its hourly capacity limit in place for the time being, so guests are strongly encouraged to reserve their tickets in advance online. Guests will be able to purchase "walk-up" tickets at the aquarium's main entrance until capacity limits are reached.

Plexiglass barriers will also remain in place around the building, with the exception of the new Sound Bites Cafe adjacent to the 4D theater, Sigworth said.

The aquarium's "Sketch & Release" activity, a popular digital interactive display that utilizes a large video wall, will also be offered again starting Friday. It has not been on since the aquarium's reopening in June, Sigworth said.