Tulsa Health Department Offers Guidance For Restaurants Allowing Dining In

Some restaurants across Oklahoma will begin letting customers inside starting Friday.

The Tulsa Health Department is offering those restaurants help for the safest way to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Fiesta Mambo, owner Veronica Reyes said she'll be operating at 50 percent capacity and said people will have to wait outside if it gets too full in the restaurant.

The restaurant has outdoor seating too, which she expects people to take advantage of. 

The kitchen was busy preparing to-go orders, and employees cleaned the floors Thursday, as Fiesta Mambo got things ready to welcome customers back inside to sit down Friday.

"Although our full menu is available, we haven't been selling every single thing, so we have to make sure that we have everything on hand. And we were just talking to the cooks. ‘Do we have this; do we have that? Yes,’” Reyes said.

Reyes owns the restaurant, along with Casa De Reyes on the other side of town. She said every other booth will be used, and parties will be sitting six feet apart.

"I'm real excited about seeing everyone,” Reyes said.

Aside from physical distancing, the Tulsa Health Department encourages restaurants to continue doing curbside and delivery orders and make hand sanitizer available for customers.

Food Program Manager DeBrena Hilton has this message for anyone going out tomorrow as things start to reopen:

"Take care of yourselves. Wash your hands a lot. Wear face masks when you're out in the public. Try not to touch your eyes, your mouth or your nose,” Hilton said.

The Tulsa Health Department will not require inspections before restaurants reopen but will give an inspection if a restaurant wants one.

"We're just ready to serve and we want to say thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everybody that has called, messaged us, placed orders. You know the support from the community has been just tremendous,” Reyes said.

You can find a complete list of guidelines for restaurants here.

Bars will not be allowed open in Oklahoma until phase two of the governor's plan.