East Lansing has come up with a way to give restaurant customers plenty of room for social distancing.
Thursday night, the East Lansing City Council opened its new program of open-air dining areas.
"I love what they done with the city. They made it a place where people can come and really connect with each other," said Ryan Tasco.
The idea is to let people bring their takeout and drinks from downtown restaurants and enjoy their meal outside while social distancing.
The area is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and there is a two hour time limit to dine.
East Lansing Mayor Ruth Beier says a perk of the area is to not have to decide on one restaurant.
"I got Barrio and Terry and Chris got El Azteco so that's the other thing. It's like a food court. You don't have to all eat at the same so it's really nice," said Mayor Beier.
Mayor Beier says she feels like East Lansing has come back to life, and she says she hopes to bring back the open-air seating even after the summer is over.
"I think were going to do this every year, virus or not, in the summertime so I think it will be a great addition to downtown."
Restaurant owner Jake Hawley says he's in favor of having the outdoor seating. He says it's brought in a lot more customers and he expects busy Friday nights.
"Now that we have this great outdoor setup, I expect it to be packed. Hopefully everyone stills respects the distance. The city's done a really good job of setting it up that way," said Hawley who owns Barrio.
The open-air seating is set to last through the summer and will end no later than August 15.
Albert Avenue is the first open-air seating area to open. There will be another at the Bailey Street parking lot and the parking area of Valley Court.
Customers will be expected to purchase food and uncapped alcohol from restaurants that are licensed to sell beer and wine for off-premises consumption within three blocks of the open-air dining areas.
Also, alcohol must be in original packaging and may only be consumed within the designated areas.
There will be a two-hour time limit for patrons to finish their meals while seated in these areas.
While seated, smoking and the use of amplified sound will not be permitted.
A special sanitation team will be on-site to keep the area clean during the hours of operation.
The clean-up teams are thanks in part to a $20,000 donation of financial support from the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority.
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Open-air dining opens in East Lansing - WILX-TV
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