Cold weather could cause a drop in business due to capacity limits

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Local bars and restaurants have been relying on outdoor seating to add capacity due to COVID-19.

A server from Tellers, Geoffrey Pratte, said the winter months will affect business since they do not have a way to insulate their outdoor seating.

"Being in the Coronavirus times that we are living in people truly don't want to have an indoor dining experience, which we understand right now so business will probably take a drop off in the winter months," he said

Pratte said right now Tellers is getting a lot of patio requests, and the owners are preparing to find a way to keep outdoor seating an option in the winter.

"I am sure they are planning and preparing something, I'm not sure what it is at the moment, but outdoor seating is important to our business, especially right now," he said

The General Manager at Harpo's, Charlie Smith, said the patio can be enclosed and heated during the winter, but they still lose half the capacity.

"losing even a single seat at this point counts, working at already under 15 percent capacity which we feel like we need to do on our own accord just to keep people safe and ensure the social distancing because that's obviously our first and foremost priority," he said.

Tellers and Harpo's both said they will be making sure people follow CDC guidelines in case indoor seating ends up being the only option.

"We all are just going to have to make sure over the winter months we are respectful of each other's distances and do a good job socially distancing," Pratte said.

The Columbia/Boone County Health Department Assistant Director, Scott Clardy said, social distancing will still be required regardless whether outside seating is available or not.