A slow sign of life is shown at one of South Florida’s liveliest and stylish districts.
After being closed for about two months, Wynwood is reopening. Dining rooms and retail shops are reopening with new and stricter guidelines.
Dining rooms in Wynwood are allowed to have guests at 50% capacity.
One of the restaurants who have reopened their dining room doors in the district is Beaker & Gray. During the pandemic, Beaker & Gray stayed opened by offering takeout & delivery. They are now taking the proper precautions and offering guests a dine-in experience that has been missing these couple of months.
"Bars are not allowed to open yet and a lot of people are looking for a bar experience. One of the things we are doing is staying open until 2 o' clock in the morning the nights we are open, that'll be Wednesday to Sunday. That's great because guests get to come in, hang out, and feel like they are in a bar. They at least get to enjoy food and drinks with their friends late at night if they like doing stuff like that," said Ben Potts, Bar Director of Beaker & Gray.
Wynwood is known for their nightlife, and as Ben mentioned, bars and nightclubs still remain closed. Craft ice cream shop, Dasher & Crank used to rely on customers who were out to enjoy Wynwood’s nightly atmosphere. The shop remains open, but their dining room is still closed.
"Even before COVID, our number one rule here at Dasher & Crank is actually written out in the kitchen and it's 'we do not kill people with ice cream'. We take that rule seriously. Before COVID, it was more about allergies because we deal with flavors that have peanuts. That same hyper attention to personal safety is being carried through during this COVID process so all employees are forced to wear masks and gloves, not touch their face, and washing hands constantly. Our Dining room is remained shut, legally we're allowed to keep it open. We have been keeping it closed because it really isn't essential and we just want to exercise an abundance of caution," said Daniel Levine, owner of Dasher & Crank.
Wynwood, like many parts of South Florida, relies heavy on tourism. For now, Wynwood is focusing on the safety of locals and aiding local establishments in the area.
"We're also working with the city to open up some of the MPA parking spots, that are normally filled with all the cars, but now with the decreased traffic, to open those up to outdoor dining. That way some of these smaller locally owned places, especially in Wynwood, are able to expand their seating capacity with that 50%[seating capacity] limiting what they are able to do," said Chris Hoffman, marketing coordinator at Wynwood BID.
If you’re wanting to grab a bite to eat, see the art, or just get some fresh air in Wynwood, just remember there are guidelines to abide.
"Practice social distancing, do your best to stay 6-feet apart, wear your face covering, that is still required no matter what retail or restaurant you go into unless you are actively eating. Follow the guidelines, stay safe out there and we hope to see everyone soon," said Hoffman.
To stay updated on everything Wynwood, click here.
For more information of Beaker & Gray, click here.
And For more information on Dasher & Crank, click here.
