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Social distancing presents challenges for drinking meetups

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Scenic Brewing’s happy hour
Photo: Steve Marcus

After more than two months of quarantine, our city has finally reopened—and that means you can finally enjoy a beer or cocktail inside your favorite bar again.

Things look and feel a bit different, at least for now. Not every watering hole offers the same happy hour specials they once did, likely because so many establishments took a massive financial hit during the shutdown. And with new social distancing guidelines, gathering at your favorite spot after work won’t be quite the same experience it once was. But that doesn’t mean supporting your local bars isn’t as essential as it ever was.

Remedy’s in Henderson and Atomic Liquors Downtown both have five-person limits per table but can split larger parties into two tables. Bar seating is permitted, but patrons can only occupy one bar seat every six feet. Neither had a happy hour at press time.

At Spring Valley’s Scenic Brewing, tables max out at eight people per party, social distancing is observed at the bar and the entire restaurant is sanitized every half hour. Happy hour runs from 3-6 p.m. Sunday through Friday, when all beers and appetizers are $3 off.

Remedy’s, Atomic and Scenic all require staffers to wear face masks, but local resident Ted Fosburgh says he’s in no hurry to return to bars. “I still wear a mask when I go out in public,” he says. “I kind of feel if you need to wear a mask at a restaurant or bar, it isn’t worth it.”

Another local, Dale Gilbert, has already been to a bar, adjusting to the new normal. “It was great being out, [but] the social distancing rules are both great and strange,” he says. “I know we need them, but it makes the usual flow of bar conversation even more awkward,” he says. “It’s [also] weird to be actively counting the amount of people in your personal space. You can’t just stand around. You have to actively think of where you are in relation to the bar and other groups of people. It’s just not something your brain is used to doing in that setting.”

Tags: Dining, Featured, Food
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