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Anna's House in Farmington Hills welcomes back first dine-in customers since COVID-19

Manager: "We’ve been waiting for this day."
Posted at 12:23 PM, Jun 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-08 12:23:40-04

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Like every other bar and restaurant welcoming back dine-in customers, things feel a little different at Anna's House in Farmington Hills, closed to dine-in patrons since mid-March due to COVID-19.

Related: Here's what will open and when in Michigan amid the coronavirus pandemic

On Monday, Michigan bars and restaurants are once again allowed to offer dine-in services, with limited capacity.

Like many restaurants, the breakfast and lunch spot off of Northwestern Highway has relied on takeout and delivery to keep them afloat during this pandemic; something the restaurant will continue to offer, now that it has online ordering.

“We’ve been waiting for this day, we’re so excited to bring our guests back in," said General Manager Audrey Zaremba Monday morning.

Before you even enter the restaurant, there's a sign encouraging customers to wear masks. Riley North, one of the Anna's House very first diners in the door Monday, brought a mask of his own.

“It adds a degree of normalcy. Kind of back to the daily routine," he said of dining out again.

At Anna’s House the new daily routine will include temperature checks for staff, increased cleaning practices, and keeping all tables at least six feet apart. All employees will wear masks, and along with every other bar and restaurant in Michigan, Anna's House must operate at 50 percent capacity.

Because of this, fewer servers will work each shift, some instead managing to-go curbside orders.

"We have all of our tables marked that we’re using," Zaremba said.

For now, the bar area at Anna's House will remain closed.

"I’ve ordered out from different restaurants a few times but it’s not really the same," said Evan Denis, who grabbed breakfast at Anna's House with some friends on Monday.

Zaremba said if a wait gets too long, some customers may be asked to wait in their car. And because COVID-19 isn't gone, she's preparing for some guests not to be ready to dine-in just yet.

“I think people are excited to get out, but I think people are treading lightly.”

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