‘Roller coaster’ ride continues as reopening moves forward
Checo's restaurant manager Edgar Gonzalez stands in the dining room Monday. It was the first day the restaurant was allowed to reopen at 50% capacity.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Edgar Gonzalez, manager of Checo's restaurant in Othello, stands in the restaurant dining room Monday, the first day restaurants were allowed to reopen to 50% capacity.
OTHELLO — The parking lot at Checo’s Mexican Grill was almost full during Monday’s lunch hour.
The day marked the first time businesses were allowed to reopen to 50% capacity in months, as Washington enters Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan.
As of noon, business was good at 1180 S. First Ave., said Checo’s manager Edgar Gonzalez. Checo’s has seen good days and bad days in the last year, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” Gonzalez said.
Many businesses, restaurants among them, were closed in March 2020 as part of the state’s plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants were allowed to offer takeout.
Some businesses reopened in late May, with limits on the number of people allowed in the building, when Grant and Adams counties qualified for the former Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan. That plan changed.
A surge in coronavirus cases prompted state officials to close some businesses again – restaurants prominent among them – in November. Inslee announced a new reopening plan in January. Under that plan, businesses were allowed to reopen at 25% of building capacity Feb. 15.
People are getting out and about, and that has helped businesses open since May 2020. Amanda Rivera, owner of Corvid Coffee Co., at 208 Government Road, in Mattawa, said she wasn’t busier on Monday. But business has picked up since Wahluke School District students returned to school in January, she said.
Javier Huitron, owner of My Kitchen, at 137 Cedar Ave. NE, in Royal City, said his restaurant isn’t generating what he needs yet.
“It’s been picking up a little bit,” he said, but not enough to allow him to catch up on his bills.
“I hope it picks up,” he said.
The impact of the lockdowns and restrictions depends in some ways on the type of business -- in fact, some have seen business improve.
“We’ve been pretty much business as usual since Mother’s Day,” said Melody Anguiano, owner of Desert Rose Designs, at 745 E. Hemlock St., in Othello.
That’s when the floral shop reopened.
Anguiano has seen a definite increase in business during the pandemic, she said. People were sending more flowers to family members and friends, she said, since in-person meetings were discouraged.
