NORTHAMPTON — Nonessential businesses will shut down any in-person operations until April starting at noon on Tuesday under Monday’s order from Gov. Charlie Baker.
Restaurants are still able to offer takeout and delivery if they can abide by social distancing protocols, according to guidance released by the state on Monday.
Many restaurants around the Valley are open for takeout. In Northampton, the city has a webpage listing restaurants that have pickup and delivery options.
Glendale Grill in Easthampton is open for dinner takeout. Owner Rod Cameron said they are taking safety precautions. “Everyone has their gloves on. The kitchen is being sanitized all the time during the course of the day,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”
Business has slowed considerably, Cameron said. “It’s basically dropped to nothing.”
Mission Cantina in Amherst is serving takeout that customers pay for over the phone and can pick up outside the restaurant or get delivered to their doorstep, said owner Sam Kochan. Later this week, Kochan plans to roll out prepared meals for groups that will be sold on a sliding scale.
The staff is required to take their temperature daily, he said. “Our staff has been coming to work, working and going home,” Kochan said.
“We have a much smaller staff of people. We unfortunately had to lay people off.”
Bri Eichstaedt, health agent at the city of Easthampton, noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus is not believed to be transmitted through food.
“Coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets,” the CDC website reads. “Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food.”
Still, restaurant employees need to stay home if they are sick, Eichstaedt said. “Managers need to be interviewing people before they come into work,” she said. “Anyone who is going to pick up the food needs to maintain social distancing.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.