Memphis restaurants gearing up to reopen

MEMPHIS, Tennessee —

It's been a long time coming, too long for some. Monday, May 4th, is phase one of the ‘Back to Business’ plan. Restaurants and shops will begin slowly opening back up.

Local 24 News checked in at Kooky Canuck, a restaurant planning to open.

Since the day doors closed, restaurant owners have been itching to reopen.

"We've been planning now for six weeks on reopening," said Shawn Danko, Kooky Canuck Chief Manager and President.

That is a long time for restaurateurs such as Danko.

"I've had enough time looking ahead and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. It was very difficult to see," said Danko.

Thursday, that first glimpse of radiance poured through as the city of Memphis and Shelby County announced the start of the phase one Back to Business plan. 

"That's encouraging for the business and for the staff as well. A lot of the staff are very excited to get back to work," said Danko. "There are some employees that are not ready to come back and we're perfectly okay with that."

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For those who are ready, there is a plan in place.

"Hand-washing for us, glove usage, mask usage, and all those combinations are critical to what we do," said Danko.

When it comes to cleaning, the task is more tedious. 

"It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish by the time the table is wiped down. All the debris is removed. We'll spray it down with a sanitizer. You've got to leave that sanitizer in place for 10 minutes. It's got to sit," said Danko. "People are going to have to be patient for when tables are available. We understand that you can see them, but they're just probably not ready to seat yet."

At the downtown location, people will sit at every other table. In Cordova, tables will be six feet apart.

"We're doing things a little bit different from location to location, but we're at 50% capacity," said Danko.

To add, there will be no standing around in the restaurant. Customers will have to wait outside before being called in to dine. Still, Kooky Canuck is ready to go.

"We are going  to do it right. We are going to do it safe," said Danko.

Despite phase one allowing restaurants to open, some have chosen to remain closed.