More customers under eased restrictions could mean more jobs

Pandemic-related restrictions were relaxed across North Carolina on Friday, allowing businesses from restaurants and bars to gyms, movie theaters and retail shops to accommodate more customers. For some business owners, more customers means they need more employees to serve them.

Posted 8:37 p.m. Mar 26, 2021 — Updated 10:57 p.m. Mar 26, 2021

Joe Fisher

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — Pandemic-related restrictions were relaxed across North Carolina on Friday, allowing businesses from restaurants and bars to gyms, movie theaters and retail shops to accommodate more customers.

For some business owners, more customers means they need more employees to serve them.

“We are hiring," said Robert Berbary, manager of The Pit restaurant in downtown Raleigh. "Every day, my assistant managers are assigned to checking online applications.”

The Pit and other restaurants statewide can now have up to 75 percent of their capacity inside and 100 percent outdoors. They have been limited to 50 percent capacity since last May.

“Absolutely, it’s a positive step forward," Berbary said. “We’ll probably add a few seats at a couple of tables to be able to seat more larger groups at a table."

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One of the caveats with the new limits is that tables still need to be spaced 6 feet apart to keep enough distance between diners to limit the potential spread of coronavirus.

Chef Ashley Christensen’s restaurants downtown, including Poole’side Pies and Beasley’s, also are hiring, even though dine-in service won’t start until mid-April.

The question for all restaurants is if more diners will actually show up.

“We’ve got to continue to open. We’ve got to continue to move forward and get past this," said Lauren Chambers, of Youngsville.

“I would probably prefer not to be inside with 75 percent. I think it’ll just take a little bit of getting used to again," Natalie Smotkin said.

As NC eases restrictions on crowd size, do you plan to go out?

While bars can increase capacity from 30 to 50 percent, breweries can operate at 75 percent capacity under the new rules.

Still, Adam Eckhardt, the owner of Crank Arm Brewing Co. in downtown Raleigh, said he’ll stay at 50 percent for now to keep people distanced.

“We have the barricades up. We have hand sanitizer everywhere. We have markings on the floor," Eckhardt said.

The precautions will keep people safe as Crank Arm starts serving drinks until 2 a.m. for the first time since last summer, when Gov. Roy Cooper enacted a 9 p.m. last call on alcohol sales for on-site consumption. That was pushed to 11 p.m. a month ago, and the curfew was eliminated under the new rules.

Eckhardt said Crank Arm's sales jumped by 25 percent with the move from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and he's looking forward to returning to the traditional 2 a.m. last call.

"The extra two hours, people were starting to enjoy themselves, and we had to shut the party down," he said. "We are all adults. I think we can handle ourselves. It’s on us to make sure we don’t over-serve folks."

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