Restaurants in Arlington are opening back up, but most people aren’t lining up to get in
Restaurants across Texas reopened Friday night. But for most Arlington restaurants, getting customers to return hasn’t been as simple as flipping on the neon open sign.
In Arlington Highlands, one of the newer shopping and dining centers in the city, only a handful of restaurants actually went through the process of bringing employees back to work and opening their tables to the public.
Even fewer have seen lines of people waiting to get in with the 25% capacity rule in place.
Saturday afternoon, when the restaurants at Arlington Highlands are usually flush with diners, Pluckers was the only restaurant with a line of people waiting to get in the door.
Dog Haus Biergarten, a drafthouse specializing in hot dogs and brats, had three tables occupied around 2 p.m. on Saturday. General Manager Carson Fair said Friday night, lines at the door only got to about four groups at any given time.
For some guests, like Bill and LuAnn McCaddon, going out means bringing your own disinfectant wipes. The couple sat on the patio of Dog Haus, drinking sodas and eating hot dogs with a value sized container of Clorox wipes serving as a centerpiece.
Fair said his restaurant, like many others, has ramped up sanitation efforts.
“We always do our best to keep this place sanitary, but we’re taking even more steps to make sure our customers are safe now,” he said.
Even Pluckers, where usually there would be a wait time ranging from 20 to 45 minutes, only had lines of up to three parties, each waiting 15 to 20 minutes, according to employees.
Other eateries, like Chuy’s Tex-Mex and Torchy’s Tacos, have decided to continue takeout only.
Chairs can be seen stacked on tables through the colorfully decorated windows of Chuy’s Tex-Mex while Torchy’s Tacos is still serving takeout from a makeshift bar at the edge of its patio.
Retail stores have had a little more luck getting people inside. Joann Fabrics, Conn’s Home Plus and David’s Bridal all had customers filling their parking lots.
Parks Mall in Arlington hasn’t opened yet, but some of its stores are still getting back to business. Finish Line, a popular shoe store, is offering curbside pickup.
Chick-Fil-A in the mall food court has set up a drive thru in the parking lot next to Cheesecake Factory, which is also still only doing to-go orders.
Some stores and restaurants around the mall have reopend, though, like Movie Trading Co. and Pei Wei.
The mall itself plans to reopen Tuesday, May 5.
This story was originally published May 2, 2020 at 3:58 PM.