Local restaurant owners are reacting to Governor Newsom’s tougher restrictions order as indoor dining comes to a halt. NBC Palm Springs stopped by various restaurants to see how they are coping with ongoing changes.

At Trio Restaurant in downtown Palm Springs, owner Tony Marchese was getting ready to re-open his restaurant as the news broke that indoor dining was ordered to stop.

“It could be devastating, you know big or small restaurants, they all suffer the same way. the bigger the restaurant, the bigger suffering they have, so it’s not going to be a great thing,” explained Marchese.

After installing plexiglass partitions and spacing dining tables, Marchese, along with other restaurants will now have to rely on outdoor dining.

“We need the dine-in business to make a profit, with our large size, just doing take out only isn’t really cost-effective for us. we’re going to be open for business with our large patio,” said Andres Delgado, CEO, and Co-owner of Las Cazuelas Nuevas.

Patrons eating out say they are confused by the many changes and restaurant managers say help keep customers educated is important.

“I’m kind of mixed up a little bit about it, because one minute it’s open, the next minute it’s not. it really makes the people feel that they really don’t know what to do, you know, it confuses them,” said Cody Foti, visiting from Ontario, California.

“I think that a lot of it is just being well-read and to know what is going on in the community and what those guidelines are. and then explaining to the customer that we are doing the best we can with what we have been given, the guidelines that have been given,” said Kelly Emmer, Marketing Director with Keedy’s Fountain and Grill.

Although some business owners agree with the governor’s leadership, they say some decisions, they don’t understand.

“I think in certain counties, like ours, gave up the mask months ago or six weeks ago. probably shouldn’t have done that, maybe just kept that rule in place even though they are opening up businesses, a business has to run, but we just have to have different rules and protect each other,” added Marchese.

In Palm Springs, restaurants like Trio are allowed to move onto the sidewalks to expand their outdoor dining. Mayor Geoff Kors tells us about 15 restaurants that have already gotten the okay from the city to expand onto sidewalks.

Local Restaurants Adapt to Gov. Newsom’s Tougher Restrictions