Restaurant owners weigh public concerns as they determine when and how to reopen

ATLANTA - While some restaurants scaled down to take out or curbside service at the start of Georgia's COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, others completely shut down--letting employees go and canceling food orders and operations systems.

Those are just a few of the reasons why the head of the Georgia Restaurant Association says reopening Monday or any time soon is more than a notion.

“Starting a restaurant back up is a monumental task because you have to look at your supply chain and determine if you can get the necessary equipment to ensure the health and wellness of my customers,” said Bremen, who has served as the CEO of the association for 10 years. “I think this is a very difficult decision for many restaurants, something that has to be very well thought out,” she added.

Bremen told FOX 5 that restauranteurs must just weigh issues of public health against what customers and employees may or not want from the favorite eating establishments.

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“That's the most important part. Do your guests feel comfortable coming to your restaurant? Most restauranteurs know their clientele and they’re hearing from customers on both sides of the heated debate over reopening the economy during a COVID-19 pandemic."

Georgia restaurants must follow state guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Department of Public Health as it relates to food safety, cleaning and sanitizing, monitoring employee health and enforcement of social distancing.

“You're going to have to make some decisions about how you're going to modify your menu, so if you chose to open, you can chose to practice social distancing in your kitchen. Your kitchen staff will have to be smaller and you're going to have to design a menu so you can facilitate with less people,” said Bremen.

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“The bottom line for every restauranteur that I talk to is their employees, how they're taking care of their employees and not just their health and wellness, but their livelihood,” said Bremen