COVID-19 In Pittsburgh: Businesses Self-Imposing Restrictions As Cases Surge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Some Pittsburgh businesses are voluntarily imposing their own coronavirus restrictions to keep people safe.
The easel greeting guests outside Oak Hill Post will soon be pulled inside and the doors will be locked. The Brookline business is self-shuttering as coronavirus cases skyrocket.
"You look around, you trust the data," said Christian Schulz, the co-owner of Oak Hill Post. "You trust the science and you trust your gut. It's a combination of all those things."
Oak Hill Post has a brow-raising sandwich menu that is suited for the pandemic patron.
"There's a lot of monotony in our lives right now," said Schulz. "This is something like, 'Woah, I've never seen octopus on a sandwich before. This is kind of cool.'"
Workers are back to stuffing to-go bags.
"This week is our first week going to takeout only," the co-owner said.
"It's critical for restaurants, right now, to be open-minded and remember that our job is to feed people and it's not always up to us how we feed those people," Schulz added.
Other local businesses are also clamping down. Hitchhiker Brewing Company is temporarily suspending in-person dining and closing taprooms in Sharpsburg and Mt. Lebanon.
In Oakmont, Moonbeam Cafe has been doing to-go only since reopening on Memorial Day. The cafe will not allow customers to sip their coffee inside until things are safe.
"I have a customer who comes in every single day. She gets the same thing. And she made it clear to me she only comes here because she knows things are being taken seriously," said Nina Komaniak, the owner of Moonbeam Cafe.
Schulz is prepping to close his doors completely for two weeks, starting on Monday. The three-person staff will serve only delivery from a select menu.
"People need to come to terms with the fact that we need to make some really hard choices over the next couple of months," said Schulz.
In two weeks, the restaurant will re-evaluate to decide what happens next.
