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Rocky Mount restaurant drops lunch, adds brunch to weather pandemic

Lou Reda's: An American Table opened more than six years ago in Rocky Mount. Like many restaurants, it has been hit hard by the pandemic.

Posted Updated

By
Bryan Mims
, WRAL reporter
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — A Rocky Mount restaurant staple has made some changes in the past year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
WRAL first visited Lou Reda's: An American Table last year, just a week after restaurant dining rooms were shuttered due to the pandemic.

"Almost a year later, we're in better shape, but not great. We're still open," owner Lou Reda said Wednesday.

A year ago, Reda was trying to drum up take-out business with a staff of 40 cut down to seven people. Reda said that he had times in the past year where he thought the closure could be permanent.

"We were bleeding money," Reda said.

The restaurant has since dropped lunch service, but added Saturday brunch to entice diners to return. Twenty employees are on the payroll now.

Reda said the restaurant has since reopened its dining room, operating at 50 percent capacity per the state's executive orders. Reda said the restaurant normally fills up 25 percent of its capacity.

"We're at a place now where we're maintaining, but that's all we're doing," Reda said.

While capacity limits aren't changing yet, bars and restaurants are seeing some restrictions ease starting Friday at 5 p.m.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that alcohol sales for on-site consumption will be pushed back from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The new executive order will allow bar owners to open for the first time since pandemic restrictions were put in place nearly a year ago. Bars will be able to open for indoor service at 30 percent capacity under the new order. The current order, which allows outdoor bar seating at 30 percent capacity, will remain in effect.