Classic Savannah restaurant reopens with new guidelines
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -Even though Governor Brian Kemp said restaurants could reopen back in late April, some held off.
The Olde Pink House in Savannah waited to make sure they could provide customers with the experience they expected on top of the new guidelines.
The Olde Pink House is an icon in Savannah and has just reopened for business. Leaders say they wanted to take their time to make sure they did it right.
“The hospitality industry is one that feeds you as much as you literally feed others," said General Manager Craig Jeffress. “So Monday was glorious to tell you the truth people wanted to be back inside the Olde Pink House. They missed us and we missed them.”
The Olde Pink House was closed for more than a month and a half, slowly began to go orders and just this week reopened their restaurant. They weren’t the first to return to business, but say they knew they needed to rethink how they served customers.
The restaurant has separated their dining tables, staff is screened before coming into the building and wear masks and gloves while working and the entire building is sanitized frequently. Since the Olde Pink House reopened their tables have been full, but they are at just a third of their regular capacity. Leaders say they knew things had to be different and took that responsibility seriously.
“There’s a certain expectation when you come to the Olde Pink House by Savannah," Jeffress said. "You know Savannah has, respects us it values us, it thinks the world of us so we represent the city so we have to represent it incredibly well so if we’re going to be open coming out of a pandemic we have to think about exactly what it means to be the Olde Pink House reopening.”
Restaurant staff say customers have been patient and understanding of the changes they’ve made for safety through the pandemic. They admit it will be a while before they are back to where they used to be, but are encouraged by what they are seeing.
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