Bars, movie theaters can reopen Friday, but some owners say they’ll wait

Friday will mark the first time in months that bar owners in Orlando can open their doors again, but some businesses said they’ll hold off reopening.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week that bars are part of the Phase 2 reopening plan following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Businesses that reopen, however, must adhere to social distancing and sanitation protocols.

The governor is still encouraging those 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions to avoid crowded areas.

At 64 North, the staff is busy getting ready to reopen. However, they said they’re not planning to open until next week.

“We’re basically taking everything out, cleaning everything, getting everything sterilized,” owner John Sanfelippo said. “We have a lot of things to get the building ready.”

However, Sanfelippo said they’re in no rush to open, even though everyone is eager to get back to work.

“One more week we’ll get through it, get our staff ready and prepared and open up when the time is right,” he said.

When that time does come, things will look very different.

At The Beacham right next door to 64 North, about a dozen tables will be put on the dance floor.

“There will not be a dance floor – it’ll all be tables and chairs,” Sanfelippo said.

Sanfelippo says customers can also expect plexiglass dividers at different bars to keep customers and employees separated as much as possible. But he isn’t sure where it would go yet, or if it’ll be installed in time.

“We’re just looking to see what makes sense for us,” Sanfelippo said. “That’s the other problem – everyone’s ordering it right now and it’s on backlog.”

Sanfelippo said they’re also waiting another week to reopen due to the 8 p.m. curfew.

Orlando officials said they’re reviewing curfews every day.

In addition to bars, movie theaters can also reopen. However, many theaters may not open for weeks.

AMC Theaters, the world’s biggest movie-theater chain, announced that it has doubts it can remain in business after closing locations across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

The theater chain said it expects to lose between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion in its first quarter.

Eyewitness News reached out to several smaller theaters around Central Florida who said it could still take days or weeks to reopen.

Weegee DeMarsh of Epic Theatres, which has 11 locations across the state and manages almost 500 employees, said in statement:

“Now that we can reopen, starts the process that notifies Hollywood Studios that Florida will be able to show their product. We can now dig into the guidelines set in place to make sure we are compliant. That will take several weeks, before we open, as we build our training materials for our employees.”

© 2020 Cox Media Group