New COVID restrictions in suburban Cook County take effect Wednesday

COOK COUNTY - Suburban Cook County restaurants and bars will not be allowed to offer indoor dining and bar service starting Wednesday.

While some restaurant owners are refusing to shut down, others have decided to follow the order.

At Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in Orland Park, the manager says they will close indoor dining, but hope to have a tent set up in their parking lot for outdoor dining by the end of the week.

“It will be heated and lit so we will at least be able to have customers outside in the tent,” said Patrick Crowley, manager at Orland Park’s Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

He told FOX 32 that he knows other restaurants will defy the coronavirus restrictions, but they will not.

“Whatever Governor Pritzker says for us to do, we do it,” said Crowley. “If we are on a two-week lockdown, then no indoor dining. It its a month, then it’s a month.”

Due to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in suburban Cook County, Pritzker is rolling back restrictions. On Wednesday, bars and restaurants are supposed to close indoor dining and bar service and they must close at 11 p.m.

Many suburban bars and restaurant asked to shut down have simply refused, including Orland Park’s Southfork Family Restaurant.

“We might just pull forward and stay open," said Southfork manager Kim Bakes. “I don't know if any of us, not only our restaurant, any restaurant is going to take this hit again.”

She said they know the stakes are high and even had a coworker die from COVID-19 in the spring, but she says if they close their dining room, it will shut them down. Bakes added that they feel like they can safely stay open, following CDC guidelines.

Pritzker has stated that Illinois State Police will patrol counties with restrictions and can issue citations. He also threatened to take away liquor licenses if need be.

Mitigation measures taking effect october 28 in regions 4 and 10 include:

Bars

•    No indoor service 
•    All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m. 
•    All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside 
•    No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)  
•    Tables should be 6 feet apart  
•    No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting 
•    No dancing or standing indoors 
•    Reservations required for each party 
•    No seating of multiple parties at one table

Restaurants

•    No indoor dining or bar service 
•    All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m. 
•    Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart 
•    No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting 
•    Reservations required for each party  
•    No seating of multiple parties at one table

Meetings, social events, gatherings

•    Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity 
•    No party buses 
•    Gaming and casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable.

These mitigations do not currently apply to schools.