Name: Restaurant owners give Murphy a less than rave review for allowing outdoor dining June 15
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Restaurant owners give Murphy a less than rave review for allowing outdoor dining June 15

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Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutFood lovers may be thrilled to be able to dine alfresco again. But restaurant owners are underwhelmed.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.Please be polite.It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.If you see comments in violation of our , please report them.CLOSECoronavirus is not foodborne. Here are tips on how to handle your food and delivery orders.North Jersey food lovers, hunkered at home for more than two months, may be thrilled to hear that . But restaurant owners?Many are underwhelmed."I should be happy about it," said&nbsp;Demetri Malki, owner of De Novo in Montclair and Edgewater. "This is not what the business is set up to do. I have outdoor dining, but&nbsp;what&nbsp;about those who don't?&nbsp;We are dying out here."&nbsp;Murphy did not give any guidelines about how restaurants should open, but the&nbsp;New Jersey Restaurant &amp; Hospitality Association created a list of guidelines to support restaurants reopening. They include sanitizing tables and chairs after each use, keeping tables 6 feet apart, offering only individual condiment packets as requested and doing away with table lemons and unwrapped straws."It's nothing to be jumping for joy about," Malki said. "At the end of day, the rent, insurance, payroll, overhead are still the same. And if you only open for 20% of your capacity, well, that's not going to pay those bills."In Edgewater, he said, he will be able to offer fewer than half of the usual 130 seats out on his patio. In Montclair, he could accommodate 30 people outdoors; with social distancing, perhaps 10.Olivier Muller, chef and co-owner of Faubourg, a nearly 1-year-old French brasserie in Montclair, is similarly&nbsp;not ecstatic."It's a good step toward reopening, but we&nbsp;we will be dependent on the weather," Muller said.&nbsp;"We had a good summer last year. But if we have three days of rain, we will have to tell our employees to stay home. We can't pay them."Muller, however, said he had been anticipating this move and consequently&nbsp;said Faubourg will offer lunch, something it hadn't done pre-COVID-19.&nbsp;"It's complicated," he added. "We&nbsp;have to choose how much staff,&nbsp;which staff we bring in first. We do not know how busy we are going to be."Craig Kunisch, owner of Mahwah Bar &amp; Grill and Allendale Bar &amp; Grill and&nbsp;the past chairman of the New Jersey Restaurant &amp; Hospitality Association, said he's flummoxed that retail shops will also be permitted to open on the 15th — but not dining rooms. "In one breath, the governor is saying it's OK to go inside for retail, but&nbsp;not restaurants. We can move tables 6 feet apart. Retail shops can't guarantee that customers will be 6 feet apart. It's crazy."But he added, "At least we know. We have two weeks to prepare."Leia Gaccione, chef/owner of South + Pine in Morristown and Central + Main in Madison, on the other hand, is&nbsp;thrilled."It's amazing," she said. "We have something in sight. I'm so excited. I can't wait to call everybody."In her Morristown location, she noted, her patio accommodates 62. But with strict social distancing requirements, the restaurant will be able to have only 28 seats. "I'll take it," she said. "I'm so excited to serve people. We're getting back to normal."Benny Balidemaj, owner of BV Tuscany in Teaneck, discontinued outdoor dining years ago."There was no interest,"&nbsp;he said.People complained that cars drove too fast on Cedar Lane and they liked to be inside in an air-conditioned dining room. He bets there will be lots of interest in sitting outside now."It's probably going to work," he said,&nbsp;even if he will have only three tables. "That's 12 people. That's better than zero."&nbsp;Email:&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter:&nbsp;&nbsp;Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2020/06/01/north-jersey-restaurants-phase-2-react-permission-outdoor-dining-two-weeks/5309697002/to help improve our site experience!More Stories

Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutFood lovers may be thrilled to be able to dine alfresco again. But restaurant owners are underwhelmed.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be...

Restaurant owners give Murphy a less than rave review for allowing outdoor dining June 15

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