Business

Cary restaurant touts vaccinated workers, aims to convince customers it's safe to return

COVID-19 restrictions recently loosened in North Carolina, but many businesses are still struggling to convince customers that it's truly safe to return.

Posted Updated

By
Aaron Thomas
, WRAL reporter
CARY, N.C. — COVID-19 restrictions recently loosened in North Carolina, but many businesses are still struggling to convince customers that it's truly safe to return.

Relaxed COVID restrictions mean more people are able to visit bars, and the owners of Woody’s Tavern & Grill in Cary say they want to be transparent about employees being vaccinated in hopes of making customers feel safe about their experience.

Seeing the restaurant come back to life brings joy to co-owner Shawn Whisnant.

"I definitely think there's been an uptick," Whisnant said. "The loosening of extended hours, being able to serve alcohol until 11 o'clock, that certainly helps."

Businesses like Woody's are spreading the word about how safe they are now for customers.

In a Facebook post, Whisnant shared that 11 of the front house staff received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. The other four received theirs on Saturday.

"That's definitely an effort to get more people to come in," Whisnant said. "Feel safe coming to Woody's and enjoy an experience here and feel safe about it."

General Manager Aaron Engrahm says customers and staff are still expected to follow safety protocols.

"We're still at half occupancy and six feet social distancing inside; masks, obviously," Engrahm said. "Everybody has documented through us, we've even got a spreadsheet that we're keeping track of when everybody got their first dose and when everybody's getting their second dose."

Woody's says staff will be vaccinated

Starting Monday, customers who come into Woody's and show a documented vaccine card (hard copy or on their phone) will get 10% off their order on any food item, dine-in only. The promotion runs through April, which is also when owners anticipate their entire staff will be fully vaccinated.

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