Despite cool weather and a County ban on outdoor dining, downtown Manhattan’s out door dining areas were busy on Sunday. Diners with to-go orders fill tables in Metlox Plaza on Sunday. The County ban on outdoor dining applied to restaurants, but not public seating areas. Photos
Manhattan Beach last Thursday answered the pleas of downtown restaurant owners and announced they would be allowed to “repurpose” their outdoor dining areas to allow public seating for diners with take-out orders. Restaurant service at the dining area tables would not be allowed. The action came in the face of a new order by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that shut down outdoor dining for at least three weeks as part of a broader effort to counter the surge of COVID-19 cases. That restriction was struck down by Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, who on Tuesday issued a tentative decision that said, in part, county officials at the LA Department of Public Health “acted arbitrarily” when deciding to close outdoor dining. Given the State of California’s Stay at Home order Sunday night, however, restaurants will likely still not be open for dining this week (see related story page 18).