A brunch for a friend’s birthday brought me out of the shutdown. I’d been stringently following social distancing guidelines, but a Saturday meal for a special occasion seemed like a good first step in venturing out again. We met at Craft Kitchen in Henderson, which, pre-pandemic, did a brisk brunch business. There was often a wait for a table.

There’s no waiting there these days; reservations are required to dine in. (Reservations are recommended for practically every sit-down restaurant in town.) Because of the new 50 percent capacity guideline, there are never more than five or six tables in use at Craft, plus four tables outside. So my friend made a reservation a couple of days before

Here’s what brunch is like now: Our party of four sat at a six-top, with the birthday girl choosing the farthest corner, reasoning that she’s had the most exposure to the outside world. We all had masks on, and we took turns washing our hands. When the server arrived, he wore a mask like the rest of the waitstaff. We mumbled our orders, keeping the interaction as brief and easy as possible. We took our masks off upon the arrival of our food, which we enjoyed thoroughly, happy not to be cooking yet another meal at home. Before the dishes were cleared, we put our masks back on and took turns washing our hands again. And on this day, gifts were given, but hugs were not.

“It’s so hard to know what the etiquette is now,” one of my dining companions expressed.

Changing times

These are early days of a new dining paradigm, and we’re all slowly figuring out how we fit into it. Certain culinary concepts have had to adapt to the new reality, or close altogether. Kura, a revolving sushi joint with 400 locations worldwide that opened to great enthusiasm on Spring Mountain last summer, has shut down its communal conveyor belt. Now, everything is made to order by way of a touch screen: The food still comes out on a conveyor belt, but straight to your table

Buffets have already seen the effects of the upheaval. Popular chain Sweet Tomatoes recently closed all its locations, including three in the Vegas Valley. Mint Indian Bistro, which, like most Indian restaurants in town, offers a lunch buffet, has altered its presentation: It now offers a bottomless sampler platter that can be refilled to your heart’s (and stomach’s) content. And even as the Strip wakes up from its pandemic slumber, there’s been no word on when its world-famous buffets might reopen.

While Starbucks chains across the Valley remain in drive-thru and pickup-only mode for now, local coffee shops have begun reopening their dining rooms—with significant changes. Gone are communal counters that once held sugar packets and milk carafes. “We’ve eliminated stations where people would touch multiple things,” says Ben Sabouri, owner of Founders Coffee and MTO Café. “We now ask you at the counter what you’d like, and then we’ll turn around and incorporate those into your drink for you.” And while you can still linger with your laptop for as long as you’d like, once you get up to leave, the waitstaff will clear the table, sanitize your chair and spray everything down for the next customer.

For Javier Anaya, owner of Pinches Tacos, with three Valley locations, the lockdown hasn’t been as devastating to his business, because takeout and delivery stayed strong. “We’re one of the lucky ones. Who doesn’t love Mexican food?” Anaya says. But not having face-to-face interaction with customers has been the biggest challenge for the restaurateur, who sees his family-owned restaurant as an extension of his home.

“You remember Cheers? Well, Pinches is the Mexican Cheers,” Anaya says. “I don’t hug my customers like I used to. I literally would, on average, hug about 50 people a day.”

Dining in again

From the day the city shut down, chefs and restaurateurs have been thinking about what their dining rooms will look like the moment they reopen. Sure, the past three months’ uncertainty has brought about innovations—expanded takeout and delivery options, pivots to new business models, virtual cooking classes—but the focus remained on bringing back the dine-in experience. Now, having implemented the state guidelines and reconfigured dining rooms, it’s all about waiting for the crowds, six feet apart, to come in.

“The first wave of people that have come out have just been so incredibly gracious and appreciative that we’re open,” says Elizabeth Blau of Honey Salt, which reopened May 15. “They were ready to get out of the house, to not have to cook a meal and to gather with friends or relatives again. We’ve tried to make the whole experience—given the masks and gloves and all that on our waitstaff and our hostesses—warm and comforting.”

Diners are not required to wear masks at Honey Salt, but there’s a paper bag at each place setting in which diners can store their masks while eating. And while the bar remains closed (most restaurant bars are, since they can’t allow for six feet of social distancing), Honey Salt has placed teddy bears on bar seats to lighten the mood.

Cory Harwell, chef and president of Carson Kitchen in Downtown Las Vegas, says he’s just happy to provide a space where people can enjoy a meal or a drink with friends again. Restaurants are, after all, one of society’s most essential—and pleasurable—fixtures, a place for entertainment and respite. “There are so many people I know who don’t begrudge the vacation that they lost during this time, because they’ll take it at a later date. But what they really missed was that Tuesday-night spot where they love to go to dinner, or that Thursday happy hour where they meet friends,” Harwell says.

Carson Kitchen has a large rooftop space and a courtyard, where the open air helps patrons feel more comfortable. With summer heat coming fast, that option could be limited; Harwell is taking advantage of it and hopes diners will, too. Luckily for us, stellar dining patios dot the Valley, including Locale’s in Mountain’s Edge, where you can indulge in a cocktail at sunset.

Some chefs waited a beat to reopen, such as Sparrow + Wolf’s Brian Howard, who completely revamped his food and cocktail menu before doing so. When doors opened on June 2, it was like unveiling a whole new restaurant. And, despite the reduction in capacity, “It was a fantastic first day. We came out and did about 80 covers,” the chef says. “Coming back with a brand-new menu, there was a little bit of time to train. We took the opportunity to really focus on finding our team’s fluidity.”

Howard says one of the biggest challenges for his staff has been wearing a mask in a hot kitchen for 12 hours a day. That’s just one in a long list of safety protocols Sparrow + Wolf has implemented, along with constantly wiping down door handles and high-touch surfaces. “As a restaurateur and as an operation, it’s our job to ensure that our guests feel safe coming through the doors and that we’ve got everything in line for them to feel comfortable. If we do that, I think it’s a win-win. People understand that we have their best interest in mind and our staff’s as well.”

Restaurant owners and chefs sound optimistic about the future of the industry in general and the resilience of Las Vegas specifically, but they also acknowledge the challenges ahead. Blau says she’s encouraged by diners coming out to support local restaurants, but adds that the economic toll of the pandemic has been so vast, it will require a concerted effort on the local, state and federal levels for the restaurant industry to stand a fighting chance at a real recovery.

For now, here’s what we can do to help. Meet each other at the table, together and apart. Start with brunch, a toast during happy hour, a long meal on a patio on a summer night. Give thanks for the bread (and the appetizer, salad, entree and dessert). Tip generously and Yelp kindly.

Because it’s not just food on a plate. Every meal we eat at these restaurants is steeped in creativity, community and hard work. As we continue to rebuild, this is what will sustain us.

“There are so many things that are different in our dining world today than there were two months ago,” Carson Kitchen’s Harwell says. “I would say, most importantly, just be patient. Just enjoy your time. Enjoy the cocktail that’s in front of you. And allow us to do what we do best, which is to try to connect with you and show you a great time.”