Mars resident Guy Shirey and his brother, Glen Shirey, toast to the reopening of Stick City Brewing Co., housed in the former fire station in downtown Mars.

For area restaurant owners and staff, going green still feels a little like yellow, as dining establishments continue to follow considerable caution under state coronavirus guidelines for reopening. If you haven't been out to dinner under the new policies, expect to see some changes to your favorite spots.

For many restaurant owners it's meant being creative and at times scraping to get by. While there remains uncertainty with policy moving forward, there is a general excitement with the return to some sense of normalcy.

“We're doing the best we can,” said bartender Amy Spangler of W. Ricks Taproom & Grill in Meridian. Like many area owners and staff, she credited a loyal customer base for helping them get through the pandemic.

“We're such a neighborhood spot. We're lucky,” she said.

Others like Beacon Hotel owner Deb Krelow described the extended closure as a struggle.

“We survived. It was not easy,” she said. “We did get a (Paycheck Protection Program) loan. If it wasn't for that we would be closed. We wouldn't have made it.”

During the closure, she said she had to lay off half of her staff and lost around 80 percent of Renfew establishment's normal business.

Hers was a story told across the country. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, food service industry unemployment went from 8.5 percent in March to 35.4 percent in April, a loss of roughly 5.4 million jobs. That figure, which includes fast-food restaurants, did not significantly rebound in May ending the month at 32.3 percent.

With most states not reopening restaurants until June, this month's numbers should be more telling.

Community supportWith the doors back open across Butler County, local support among customers and even competing restaurants has been tremendous, according to Krelow and other owners.“This has done more for the family-owned business than anything ever has,” she said describing positives coming out of the shutdown.Seated outdoors at her restaurant, another bar owner walks in for drink as she talks. “Small businesses are supporting each other more and more. It's been pretty amazing,” Krelow said.Under state and Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, restaurants continue to be limited to 50 percent occupancy, which undoubtedly has its limitations and concerns for long-term operations.“The most straightforward word to describe the green phase I could use is 'strange,'” said Patrick Wyman, a partner in Zelienople and

Harmony-based ShuBrew.While the shutdown of dining space was an issue during stay-at-home orders, Wyman said that as a beer supplier for area grocery stores, other restaurants and events, ShuBrew also lost half of its beer distribution during the shutdown. But he credits the brewery side of operations, and loyal customers, for contributing to keeping the business afloat.“It would be much more challenging without the brewery side,” he said.Still, a week into the green phase he added concerns — “I think people are still not coming out at the frequency they once were.”

Safe and cleanBeyond occupancy, other guidelines in the green phase include marking off social distancing space for lines to enter and order food. Face masks are required to be worn when not seated at a table. Staff is also required to clean extensively.“We've been using a lot more bleach,” Wyman joked.Some restaurants like SchuBrew have opted to go beyond basic guidelines. The Zelienople restaurant and brewery is using all plant-based disposable plastic utensils, both for customer and staff safety.“I'm not going to make my dishwasher touch every peace of silverware,” he said. “We're trying our best to protect (customers and staff).”Wyman said he understands people continuing to be cautious, and recommends consulting with a physician when it comes to choosing dine-in, rather than listening to input from other sources like the media or public officials.

Challenging timesWhat's challenging businesses is the uncertainty moving forward.“It's almost impossible to keep up with it,” Krelow said of state and CDC guidelines as they changed from week-to-week during the height of the pandemic and remain unclear moving forward.Now that Beacon Hotel is back open, however, she was happy to say, “Our food sales are way up.”The uptick is partly a credit to enhanced takeout options, according to Krelow. The Beacon, like other restaurants, added family meal options to its to-go options during the shutdown, with travel-friendly meals that reheat well. The family meal option is both a benefit to restaurant and customers in terms of cost, Krelow said.It's adaptations and creative approaches like that that look to be key to restaurants going forward.“We've totally revamped operations,” Mars Stick City Brewing Co. owner Nick Salkeld said, describing a common sentiment. “It's been a challenge.”For some restaurants it's meant expanded takeout and curbside pickup. For others it's been online ordering or even adding home delivery.Some breweries have put a new emphasis on canning. Many are changes that owners expect to continue.Some restaurants like ShuBrew have been able to adapt to 50 percent occupancy by doing things like opening their banquet space to regular dining. Others have expanded outdoor seating.

Creative adjustmentsIn some areas, communities and townships are stepping up as well. Zelienople council, for example, recently approved three outdoor seating areas on Main Street, to be used by businesses for expanded seating options. The town allows open containers, so guests can even bring alcoholic beverages to the public eating spaces.Similarly, the owners of Butler Brew Works said they were in discussions with Butler city officials to expand their outdoor seating.Restaurateurs have also had to get creative with their menus at times, whether it's simplifying to accommodate takeout, or dealing with supply chain shortages that have developed in the aftermath of shutdowns.“I went down to the restaurant depot and I thought the apocalypse had hit,” Krelow said, describing one of her suppliers. “I didn't know what to do.”She described shortages of various meats and seafood from different suppliers, as well as having to pay double for meat at times.What kind of success restaurants can manage at 50 percent occupancy remains to be seen. Owners say there seems to be little clarity as to when additional restrictions may be lifted.“This is what the green is for now. We never know,” Krelow said. “You have to think outside the box to survive.”