As an order to close restaurants and theaters took effect Monday night, restaurants in downtown Huntington went dark. At 8 p.m., the deadline to close, most restaurants had already shut and locked their doors. There was very little road traffic and even less noise.
Many of the restaurants were dark or populated by one or two workers wiping down counters or mopping floors.
Those restaurants planning to offer curbside or takeout service, which is allowed under the shutdown order, remained open. Retail stores aren’t covered by the governor’s order.
Little Vincent’s continued to draw a few customers coming in to pick up orders. The owners of Skorpios Restaurant stood by with a takeout order, and while acknowledging the need to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic, worried about the loss of business while costs continue.
The darkened AMC theater on Wall Street was shut tight. Besito’s Mexico Restaurant was dark, chairs and tables stacked at the window. Red Restaurant bore a sign explaining that it was closed, and reminded patrons to follow medical guidelines to avoid the epidemic.
Neil Goldberg, owner of the Main Street Board Game Cafe, is in the odd position of having to lay off workers because the food service portion of the store had to shut down. But he remains open, able to sell boxed board games. He doesn’t know how much longer retail stores will be exempt from the shutdown.