A restaurant in Australia is placing cardboard cutouts at its tables in an attempt to make diners feel more comfortable
- At Five Dock Dining, cardboard cutouts will be used to fill tables and "chatter" will play on the speakers.
- The New South Wales state government is allowing cafes, restaurants, and bars to reopen on Friday with a maximum of 10 guests.
- It isn't the only restaurant with a creative approach to dining after lockdown. A restaurant in Washington, Virginia, plans to have mannequins join guests at its tables.
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At Five Dock Dining, cardboard cutouts will keep you company while you dine.
In Sydney, Australia, the restaurant is adapting to a post-coronavirus normal by adding cardboard cutouts to dining tables. The restaurant also plans to play guest "chatter" on the speakers.
The New South Wales' state government has announced it's is easing restrictions starting Friday.
Cafes, restaurants, and hotel dining areas are able to reopen but can only serve 10 guests at a time
The limit on guests presented a challenge to Frank Angeletta, the owner of the restaurant. Five Dock Dining has a large dining space, and he was worried the area would feel empty.
By adding the cutouts and playing chatter through the speaker, Angeletta hopes his customers will feel like they're having the typical dining experience.
"Hopefully it pays off," Angeletta told 7News Sydney, a local television station.
It looks like it has. The restaurant quickly filled its reservations, with 18 guests spread out across "two sittings," according to Angeletta.
Previously, the restaurant, like many others across Australia and the world, had been offering takeout to offset the in-person dining loss.
On Friday, the first night it will be reopened, Five Dock Dining is offering a set menu for $65, which includes everything from tuna carpaccio to crab gnocchi to tiramisu.
Five Dock Dining isn't the only restaurant that has a plan to fill tables
The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia, plans to place mannequins at its tables to ensure visitors are practicing social distancing when it reopens.
Patrick O'Connell, the chef at the restaurant, is working with a theater company to acquire, dress, and place the mannequins in the restaurant.
The mannequins will be dressed in 1940s attire and will be served wine like any other guest when the restaurant reopens at the end of May, according to Washingtonian.
As restaurants, bars, and cafes slowly reopen, owners are adapting and searching for creative ways for guests to feel at ease in nontraditional dining experiences.
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- An artist turned a closed diner into an art gallery during lockdown by hanging her colorful paintings in the windows