Greg Abbott’s 100% Solution for the Texas Economy: How Austin Restaurants Are Handling It

To say that the past year has been very challenging to Austin restaurants would be a massive understatement. For most it has been a daily struggle coping with health mandates, retaining staff, and operating with substantially reduced capacity.

So in the wake of Governor Greg Abbot’s sudden and surprising announcement that businesses in Texas could operate at 100% customer capacity, one would think that having removed the shackles on restaurants they’d immediately jump full speed back into the fray.

But remarkably this has not been the case in Austin. Restaurants have been proceeding cautiously, with many operating between 50 to 70 percent capacity and spacing tables for social distancing while requiring (rather than recommending) masking except during dining.

Customers have also been cooperating. I went to a crowded restaurant the other night that had a small waiting line at the door. Everyone in the line had a mask on and when I got inside people were keeping their masks on until they got to their tables.

As many of you know I have been a bit pessimistic about the prospects of some customers adhering to strict restaurant safety protocols once they feel they’ve been given a green light by Abbot, but thus far I haven’t seen any evidence of that.

It has been very gratifying to see our restaurants being cautious instead of instantly ramping up to 100% and relaxing masking requirements. Likewise, it has also been refreshing that after all the crap that restaurants and their customers have been through in the past year some degree of synergy has been established between both sides. I think this bodes exceptionally well for indoor dining in Austin.