CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Breweries, dine-in restaurants and salons in Charlotte saw a steady stream of customers on their first day reopening under Phase 2 of Governor Roy Cooper’s three-phase plan.
Dozens of people spent Saturday afternoon drinking beers at Suffolk Punch in South End, including Nicholas Trunzo.
"It's nice to be at the breweries,” Trunzo said. “It's good to have life back in the motion that it should be."
Breweries only found out Friday afternoon they could reopen under Phase 2, which meant Suffolk Punch general manager Shan Sheheane had to rush to get staffing in place.
"It was tough finding out last minute that we would be open,” Sheheane said. “Wrangling all the staff to get in to work this weekend was very difficult, but we overcame it.“
The brewery’s staff kept track every hour of how many customers they had to stay under capacity limits. Tables are spaced six feet apart, and customers and bartenders are separated by a plexiglass shield.
The other popular spots Saturday were hair salons.
Tom Parker and his wife own six Supercuts, but they only reopened two of them as a test trial. At their South End location, Park said they've cut the hair of 76 customers by mid-afternoon.
"It's been a little chaotic,” Parker said. “We got to operate under circumstances we're not used to."
All the stylists must wear masks, and they can't accept walk-ins.
Customers who book appointments must stay in their cars and wait to be called into the salon.
"There's been a lot of pent up demand for haircuts,” Parker said. “It's been fun, but extremely busy."