CLEVELAND — Some local restaurant owners are now speaking out about images of their establishments circulating on social media showing people who were not social distancing this weekend.
“We don’t want to be ignorant…we understand where that’s coming from,” said Rick Doody, owner of Lindey’s Lake House on the east bank of The Flats.
His patio was among those bombarded Saturday when warm weather and Governor DeWine’s allowing of outdoor dining brought people out.
At one point, guests at Lindey’s Lake House were nearly shoulder to shoulder and police had to disperse the crowd.
“We kind of got thrown into it yesterday. It was too much, too fast,” Doody said. “I looked at our restaurant, and we can do a better job.”
It was ironic, since Doody also serves on the Ohio commission which had advised Governor DeWine on reopening.
In hindsight, he says, businesses probably needed more specifics.
“I think we probably should have done a better job as his advisory committee on being more definitive,” he said. “We weren’t supposed to be self-policing...that in and of itself is difficult as well, because some people are going to do a better job than others.”
They were not the only victims of success.
Despite sanitizing efforts and removing tables, Lago East was also hit across the street by crowds.
On Sunday, they released the following statement to 3News:
"First off we want to say that we are humbled and so grateful for the overwhelming support that the community has shown Lago throughout this pandemic. We are so proud to be Clevelanders!
"We have seen the pictures that have been posted and we certainly understand the concern accompanying those pictures. We also feel it is necessary to provide context.
"Lago took great care to implement every guideline that has been set by the State of Ohio. All of our tables are properly spaced, and we have encouraged all of our guests to practice social distancing in line with state guidelines. There were times during our opening that tested those guidelines and we took immediate measures to thin the “crowded” areas. We believe we were able to provide a safe environment for all guests. The pictures are one moment, one angle, one second of time. It in no way accurately reflects the time, money & effort that was put into preparing our business in line with the state guidelines within a week’s time. We were operating at a limited capacity for two months and we were excited to welcome back our guests. The recent criticism certainly does not reflect the additional precautions that we implemented that go far beyond the Governor’s guidelines, but we understand and will continue to adjust as necessary.
"With that being said, we do not believe it is necessarily our responsibility to “control” our guests. It proved to be largely unrealistic and exceedingly difficult. We are not an enforcement agency. If the state provides further mandates that we must follow, we will certainly enact and follow those mandates.
"Let us be very clear, Lago is committed to ensure that the safety and welfare of our local community and staff is a top priority. We stand by that with our ongoing support of first responders through our Essential Meals program; delivering 1,000 meals a week currently. We will continue to provide our guests the best dining experience possible while making sure best practices and guidelines are followed."
While in Rocky River Sunday night, some businesses began preparing for Thursday. It is the day that restaurants can reopen indoors.
At Burntwood Tavern, servers spaced chairs at the bar and enforced hand washing every 20 minutes among staff.
Many tables are now gone.
“We are right now at less than half and we’re just trying to observe all the rules and make sure that everybody’s safe--our guests as well as our employees,” manager Atoosa Sculli said.
This coming weekend will mark a big one for summer, with Memorial Day on Monday.
On Sunday, 3 News reached out to the City of Cleveland to see if any business had been cited over the weekend, and the requests went unanswered.