The news that New Jersey restaurants will be allowed to re-open June 15 with outdoor dining is being welcomed by owners who have been either completely closed or getting by with take out service for almost three-months.
At the Headliner in Neptune co-owner Tom Sueta said they are ready to open for outdoor dining on their large poolside dining area. The only concern is a lack of clear guidelines from the state.
“We will be taking temperatures and sanitizing customers hands when they come in. We are clean, sanitized and ready,” he said.
They will be serving lunch and dinner and of course cocktails in the area that can seat 200, but they don’t know what capacity the state will require.
Sueta also said their volleyball courts will be open and the regular Headliner volleyball leagues will also be starting up on June 15. They are also anxious to be able to open the indoor club soon.
“It’s very important,” Sueta said, “We have to open to stay in business.”
Anthony Pagano, owner of Pagano’s Uva in Bradley Beach, is one of them.
“It’s good to get started again, it will be helpful to the bottom line,” he said.
But at the same time, Pagano said he needs more guidance from the state on how to do it. Things like seating arrangements, the number of diners allowed at one time.
Uva already has outdoor dining and Pagano said they will have seating for 25 to 30 people at tables on Main Street and around the corner on McCabe Avenue. But the 140 seats inside Uva will remain off limits. And that’s where the money is. Pagano said many super nice days have been lost by the forced closing.
“Imagine what we could have done this past weekend.”
Il Posto in Neptune is also planning to open for outdoor dining but there was no further information available at press time.
