CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- With additional COVID-19 mitigations going into effect Thursday, some restaurant owners are worried customers won't want to eat outside when temperatures start to drop.
Josh Klarer, owner of Underground Public House in Carbondale, said his restaurant has spent thousands of dollars to make sure they have tents and heaters for outdoor dining.
But losing indoor dining and having to spend money to make more space for customers, Klarer is worried about the long-term effects that the new mitigations will have.
"I'm really worried for all of us small restaurants around here. A lot of places are not fortunate enough to have an outdoor area. I'm really worried about everybody right now. I don't know what's gonna happen. Are we gonna wake up at the end of all this this spring and have zero restaurants? It's a scary time," Klarer said.
Klarer said he doesn't understand why restaurants are the focus of the latest mitigations.
In his daily briefing on Tuesday, Governor JB Pritzker said that the top three places for COVID-19 to spread are restaurants, bars and schools. For right now, he is going to let local health departments decide what to do with positive COVID-19 cases in schools.
