Count Eric Williams among Cleveland chefs who are shutting down dine-in operations until Cuyahoga County’s stay-at-home advisory is lifted in mid-December.
Market Garden, Parnell’s, Gunselman’s and others have made similar moves. Nighttown owner Brendan Ring recently announced his Cleveland Heights restaurant and jazz club would be shuttered until at least spring.
“Out of an abundance of safety and caution El Carnicero and Momocho will temporarily close inside/patio dining during the current Cuyahoga County stay-at-home-advisory,” Williams announced on Sunday. “However, take-away service will continue. We need to be part of any solution that helps prevent the spread of Covid-19 for the health and safety of our front line medical workers, community and co-workers.”
Ohio has seen near-daily records for new Covid cases with health officials sounding the alarm on abiding by mask and social distancing precautions. Cuyahoga County may see as many as 2,000 daily cases alone, while the city of Cleveland has set records for cases numerous times in the last week.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week ordered a statewide 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for three weeks, a half-measure in the face of an unprecedented Covid surge according to many experts in the face of business pressure to avert a statewide shutdown of bars and restaurants.
This article appears in Nov 18 – Dec 1, 2020.
