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MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Miami-Dade and Broward counties will be able to reopen next week, and both restaurants and barber shops are already making necessary preparations to welcome customers back.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Broward County Mayor Dale Holness will allow small businesses to partially reopen for the first time in nearly two months on Monday.
“We believe that the regulations and the rules that are in place are a way that we can get back to business,” Gimenez said.
In Miami-Dade County, some businesses will be allowed to open on Monday, but some businesses in several cities will have to wait until Wednesday to reopen.
Although Miami-Dade’s opening depends on where residents live, Broward County’s reopening will be uniform. All municipalities will reopen for business on Monday.
Hugo “Juice” Tandron owns Headz Up Barbershop in Miami Gardens. Since the county is allowing salons and barbershops to open, he invested in several hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning supplies.
Despite Miami-Dade’s rules, Miami Gardens is waiting until Wednesday to open and waiting even longer to allow barbers to get back to work.
“The uncertainty of that is causing a lot of headaches, a lot of confusion,” he said. “You can eliminate the confusion. I feel it should all have just been done at the same time.”
“This plan allows us time and the ability to work with restaurants and retailers and provide all the measures for them to reopen slowly and safely,” Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert said.
City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said they will wait until Wednesday to reopen to make sure things run smoothly.
“We want to see how the county rollout happens, to see if there’s any adjustments that we need to make,” Suarez said. “We don’t want them to just open. We want them to open with the right protocols.”
Restaurant owners in South Miami are doing what they can to get sales back into their businesses while keeping guests and employees safe.
“We’ve been hanging in there doing take out and delivery, and that’s kept the lights on,” said Deli Lane Cafe & Tavern owner Jahn Kirchoff.
While Kirchoff is excited to bring patrons back into his business, he wants to do so cautiously.
“We’re glad to be able to reopen but also my number one primary thing is keeping my employees safe,” he said.
Over at Pubbelly Sushi, staff members have been hard at work to add extra safety precautions to the restaurant.
“I know people are scared to go out, so we want to make it easier for them, and we’ve also come up with our own ways to make people more safe,” said Pubbelly Sushi Chef José Mendín.
All four of their South Florida locations will now have dividers between tables. Mendín said although it’s not ideal, it keeps customers safe.
“They go great with the concept and the restaurant,” he said. “We’re more of an open-space kind of place, but this, for now, will do the job.”
Guests at Pubbelly Sushi will also be ordering from their phones so interactions with servers are minimal.
“I think they’re gonna like it. I think they’ll feel like we’re being a little extra careful for them,” said Mendín.
With the extra measures in place, restaurant owners hope customers will be able to relax a bit and enjoy the dine-in experience once again.
“This is like starting all over again,” said Kirchoff. “For everyone out there, I want them to understand to be kind to every restaurant they go to and please support your local, independent restaurants.”
Health experts have said it is crucial people follow the rules. Otherwise, there could be a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
“My concern is going to vary depending on how responsive our population is and how cooperative our population is,” Dr. Aileen Marty, Florida International University’s infectious diseases expert, said.
“We shouldn’t see a spike or any increases of infection because following these rules will keep us safe,” Gimenez said.
Some cities are still finalizing their plans to reopen.
DeSantis also announced that gyms across the state will begin to partially reopen starting next week, except in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
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