SAN DIEGO _ Despite cries from some to go faster and others to go slower, Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County's public health officer, largely stuck with California's new rules announced Friday allowing a wide range of businesses to resume varying levels of indoor activity.
There were a few new public health orders announced Monday, including one that all businesses now reopening keep logs with names and phone numbers of everyone they serve to make it easier to track people down quickly if a COVID-19 outbreak is detected.
Overall, Wooten's take on the now-underway move back indoors seemed to be: Now it's up to you.
Across the county, businesses that hadn't already opened their doors to the public were preparing to welcome customers once again. Some found themselves crossing their fingers, hoping more closures weren't in their future.
RESTAURANTS
Some San Diego County restaurants were ready to begin indoor seating first thing Monday morning while others were still re-arranging furniture to adhere to new guidelines.
Johan Engman owns 18 eateries, including 10 Breakfast Republic restaurants that were ready to seat a limited number of customers as soon as the new regulations went into effect.
"We're right there with everybody else, just trying to get through this and navigate seemingly weekly changes," he said of the new health order.
In addition to the 25% occupancy rule and requirements that tables remain at least 6 feet apart, the county added a regulation Monday that will require diners who sit indoors at restaurants to wear a face mask except when they are eating and drinking. Currently, diners must wear a face covering until they are seated, and that will still be the case for those who sit outside.
Engman wonders whether people will even want to sit indoors during the pandemic. Still, despite being far from operating at full capacity, the restaurateur was grateful for the changes.
"Anything that's a step in the right direction is great," he said.
Bob Carpenter, the co-owner of Sunny Side Kitchen in Escondido, Calif., said his restaurant used to be able to sit 28 people indoors. Under the new order, he'll be able to comfortably seat seven at two tables.
"We're concerned about ourselves and our guests' health," he said. "Seven people, that's fine for now."
Carpenter said outdoor seating has been expanded from three to six seats, but that take-out orders have been the lifeblood of the restaurant this year. On Saturday, they filled 133 breakfast orders Saturday, more than twice their usual and most to-go.
In Encinitas on Monday, Goodonya restaurant owner Kris Buchanan was preparing to welcome guests into the restaurant once again _ albeit far fewer than usual. Buchanan said, at 25% capacity, she'll be able to have four to six seats indoors.
The restaurant, like many others, has struggled during the pandemic, but 12 outdoor seats on a newly built patio have kept her afloat. She didn't do it alone. The patio was built through donations of cash, materials and labor from supporters of the natural food eatery.
BARS
Some businesses are taking their time before they reopen.
The on-again, off-again cycle of openings during the COVID-19 crisis has been unsettling enough that bar owner Chad Cline is holding off on reopening some of his bars so that he has time, he says, to do it in a more organized fashion. Bars that serve food are permitted to reopen under the new state guidelines, while those that do not must remain closed. Many of Cline's venues, before the onslaught of the pandemic, did not serve food to their patrons.
For now, two of his bar-centric locations _ the well-known Waterfront Bar & Grill in Little Italy and Harbor Town Pub in Point Loma _ are the only ones that are reopening right away with indoor service at 25% capacity. Food is available at those two locations.
"We're still working on building relationships with vendors so we can provide food at our spots like the Aero Club and Club Marina," said Cline, a co-owner. "They just told us on Friday about this. We didn't know if it would be September, October, November. We just want to make sure we're being smart about everything and not do something that feels like a ragtag opening. People have been waiting a long time to go out and have a drink and something to eat, and we want to make sure we're not throwing it at them just because we can."
Normally, capacity at the Waterfront would be 146 people inside, so for now, that will be cut to just 25 percent, which is no more than 37 people. While Cline expects to still be losing money with those limitations, he will at least come closer to breaking even, he says. Last month, his Harbor Town Pub, for instance, lost $3,000, a marked improvement over the month before when it suffered a $20,000 loss, he said.
"If your whole body is on fire and someone doused your leg, would you be happy?" Cline said of the new guidelines. "I hope nobody at the county is saying congratulations, I put out the fire on your leg."
It was only a week ago that Flick's, a well-known gay bar, reopened for outdoor service after using a portion of a private parking lot to set up outdoor seating. It had been closed since mid-March except for 10 days in June when it briefly reopened.
With the latest reprieve for indoor service, owner Jeff Jackson is scrambling to purchase more furniture in hopes of opening is bar inside as early as Wednesday. He is partnering with a nearby restaurant, Lalo's Tacos Al Pastor, so that he can, for the first time, serve food at his bar. He's hoping to accommodate inside Rich's about 40 to 50 bar patrons, which is actually less than 25% capacity.
"It had become sink or swim at this point," Jackson said. "We have to cover our overhead and it doesn't go away because we're closed. Our landlord has been fantastic, but we still have utilities and other expenses. I'm basically trying to break even for the duration. Any revenue we can get is worth it. I'm not trying to make a profit right now."
GYMS
Gym owners say there's not much prep work to do this time around, as they already went through the reopening process earlier this summer. Gyms were briefly allowed to reopen in June, but had to shut back down weeks later in July.
Now, reservation systems are already in place, thermometers are purchased, sanitation stations are installed, and equipment is spaced. Most are ready to reopen their doors right away. But some may not want to.
Fitness centers, hit with one of the most stringent caps on occupancy under the state's new rules, can only fill their buildings to 10% their total capacity.
Scott Lutwak, the CEO of a local chain of luxury gyms in San Diego called Fit Athletic Club, said the cap will force him to operate at a financial loss.
"It's impossible to expect a business to function at 10% their capacity," Lutwak said. "Do they think we've been operating at a 90% profit margin? No business in the world does that. We service a lot of customers at a small margin. Take away that volume and you can't survive."
Even so, Fit opened all five of its clubs Tuesday.
"We're just hoping that 10% rule won't last long," Lutwak said.
The logic behind the stricter rules is tied to perceived risk at these facilities. The state's COVID-19 website, which outlines rules and guidelines for reopenings, states that virus-spreading activities such as "singing, shouting and heavy breathing" make indoor congregation risky.
Many gyms have already taken advantage of San Diego's temporary ease on permitting to move their operations outside, although this option is less feasible for businesses in less temperate regions of the state.
SALONS
Nguyen Doan, who works at Adam's Avenue Nail Bar, sat inside the empty nail salon on Monday, a day before its planned reopening.
Each chair is separated by plexiglass and nail colors are no longer on display on the salon's walls to avoid having multiple people touch the bottles. There are also plexiglass barriers on wheels for nail technicians to use to separate themselves from co-workers.
Doan said customers will be required to wear face masks and get their temperature taken when entering the salon.
Doan, holding printed pages of the state's reopening guidelines with highlighted sections, said it has been difficult to navigate the information provided by state and local health officials.
He said the salon owes rent for the previous months, so if the state closes salons again, he thinks they will close their doors permanently.
"If this happens again we are done," Doan said.
Carlos Martinez, owner of Reo Shave Co., was cutting a customer's hair on Monday when someone called to ask if the barber shop was opened yet.
"It's a relief to be open," he said, adding that slowly, as business picks up, he hopes the shop can get back to what it was before the pandemic.
Customers are required to wear face masks and they must wait in their car before their appointment to limit the number of people inside. And despite the name, the shop is not offering shaving services.
Martinez, who has been cutting hair for more than 10 years, opened Reo Shave Co. in 2017. He said it was his dream since he first learned to cut hair; however, the back and forth with closing and reopening is making him consider a different career.
"I don't think they are going to stop shutting us down until there is a vaccine," Martinez said.
Jamie Baluyot and Joye Giammarinaro, co-owners of B&G Studio in North Park, were busy cutting hair on Monday. Clients inside wore face masks and sat on salon chair that were more than 6-feet apart.
Baluyot said it feels weird to be back at work and he is not optimistic that it will last long.
"I have a feeling we are going to shut down again," Baluyot said.
Giammarinaro said she did not feel it was fair salons were ordered to close in the first place given that they are already required to follow strict cleaning guidelines as licensed professionals.
OTHER BUSINESSES STILL ON HOLD
Though the new California rules allow public libraries to open at 50% capacity, and county officials said Monday that they're examining how to make that happen, many other businesses, like those involving live events, are still waiting for permission to start up again _ a circumstance some business leaders feel is unfair.
Laurel McFarlane, founder of the San Diego Event Coalition, said that while other industries are allowed to modify their practices, the event business has been left out in the cold. She added that other businesses that are very similar to events have been allowed to reopen _ like swap meets and farmers markets. While street vendors are allowed to set up at beaches and public parks, they can't participate in a regulated street fair.
"We are happy that these businesses are operating, but it's complete hypocrisy that these categories are open _ they operate just like an event," McFarlane said.
McFarlane asked that county and state leaders sit down with event professionals and work out a set of regulations that would allow these businesses to reopen during the pandemic.
(Brittany Meiling, Gary Warth, Andrea Lopez-Villafana and Lori Weisberg contributed to this story.)
