EASTHAMPTON — Mission Taco has suspended its curbside service in the city in anticipation of being allowed to begin offering outdoor dining as soon as next week.
“We’re looking forward to engaging with customers again and using our liquor license as it was intended,” said Sam Kochan, owner-operator of the Mexican restaurant.
The restaurant closed after Sunday, and Kochan and staff have been using the downtime to prepare for outdoor dining, which he said appears will be allowed in the next phase of the state’s reopening. Although curbside service at Mission Cantina, Mission Taco’s sister restaurant in Amherst, has remained open, Kochan said he plans to offer seated outdoor dining at both restaurants.
Gov. Charlie Baker is set to decide Saturday when Phase 2 of the state’s lifting of closure orders imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will begin, which could be as early as Monday. The current plans for Phase 2 are to allow outdoor dining in restaurants in the beginning, followed by limited indoor dining later on in the phase if public infection rates continue to show progress.
Curbside takeout service, Kochan said, was never supposed to be a long-term solution. Both Mission Cantina and Mission Taco switched to takeout-only on March 14.
“We were kind of the first on the scene to do the takeout-only thing,” he said. “That was before it really got bad.”
Kristen Miklinevich, the manager at Mission Taco, said the thought had been that takeout-only service would last just a month or so, and that three months was never considered.
“What we were doing before was sort of like a Band-Aid,” she said. “It’s not sustainable that long.”
Miklinevich said the goal is to make outdoor dining an experience at Mission Taco, and that the restaurant will probably put out speakers and have music.
“We’ll most likely have to take reservations, probably in blocks of time,” she said.
Another element that will be available when Mission Cantina and Mission Taco are allowed to have diners is serving cocktails, something the restaurant couldn’t offer as part of its curbside service.
“I can’t wait to start making drinks for people again,” Miklinevich said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.