MACON, Ga. — Restaurants, bars, and gyms now have looser restrictions on how can they operate during the pandemic because of Governor Brian Kemp's easing of restrictions. The changes include no more restrictions on the size of gatherings, no more shelter-in-place, and no six feet distancing requirements for businesses.
"Today, we have been slammed, we have been super-busy, thankfully," Your Pie Pizza Shift Lead Candis Wilburn said.
With restrictions loosening up across Central Georgia, Your Pie Pizza in Macon says the dough is rolling in.
"We went from $300 lunches to $1,000 lunches from November (2020) to now," Wilburn said.
Wilburn says business picked during the Cherry Blossom Festival and with Kemp's order business is on the rise.
"We are very excited since we are locally-owned, to have these restrictions come up a little bit," Wilburn said.
From lunch to dessert, the message is the same.
"It's good for us so we only had so much seating, to begin with," Owner of Decadent Patrick Polowichak said.
Polowichak says business was touch-and-go at the start of the pandemic, but Kemp's announcement was the icing on the cake.
"We only had a max seating of 25 anyhow, but we already kept our seating spread apart, so it is good -- now we are going to be able to capitalize on all of the seats," Polowichak said.
Both of the restaurants say they will keep practices in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
"We have all of our employees wear a mask at all times when dealing with customers, we clean every table and drink station after every customer comes into contact with it," Wilburn said.
"We are going to keep the same concept -- if you're sick stay home, after you are done working wash your hands, wear gloves -- it is our standard procedure," Polowichak said.
Polowichak and Wilburn hope this is all a sign of a better 2021 for their customers and staff.
"We will continue keeping this restaurant as COVID-safe and clean as possible," Wilburn said.
Even with these restrictions in place, the governor is encouraging everyone to mask up and social distance.