STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Some restaurants are saying “no" to inside dining even though the governor allowed them to have 10 people or less.
Last week Starkville city leaders passed an ordinance banning inside dining at restaurants for 30 days. Many other cities across the state implemented similar measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Tuesday night, Gov. Tate Reeves signed an executive order, allowing restaurants to have 10 people or less inside.
This sent mayors across the state scrambling to update their cities’ ordinances to comply with Reeves’ new order.
Reeves clarified Thursday afternoon that cities in the state have the right to go beyond his order and can implement stricter measures, such as banning inside dining.
Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said the governor's order was a guideline/suggestion for the city to follow. That means restaurants in Starkville still cannot allow inside dining for several more weeks.
Two business managers said Reeves' order allowing 10 people or less is not a good idea for right now.
Kiel Hebert is one of the owners and operators of Moe’s Original BBQ in Starkville. He said his business took a hard hit during the coronavirus pandemic.
And as a result, he had to let go 90 percent of his staff. He has three people working right now.
Herbert said customers can only do curbside pickups or delivery orders.
“We feel that curbside is the best to protect our employees and our staff and to protect the customers as well. So that’s what we’re going to go with for now.”
The general manager of Nine-Twentynine Coffee Bar Jonette Shurden said the restaurant will continue to ban inside dining too. She said they only allow call-in or walk-up orders until the pandemic is over.
Both Hebert and Shurden said they can't wait until business is back to normal.
Many restaurant managers and owners in Starkville said they would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to health.