iStock/Natalie_magicBy: KELLY MCCARTHY, ABC News
(BERLIN) — Restaurants are slowly beginning to welcome back diners after putting new social distancing rules in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. And many eateries have come up with bizarre, but effective ways to keep parties at least six feet apart.
Some owners are forgoing tape and colorful sidewalk chalk and swapping it out for more inventive modes of measurement.
Check out some of the unique tactics we’ve seen around the globe as guests go back to in-person dining.
Mediamatic ETEN, a waterfront restaurant and bar in Amsterdam, has evolved its greenhouse model to outdoor pods for individual parties of up to three diners.
The restaurant has started to test the new experience using glass chambers shaped like small houses.
Additionally, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page servers are wearing 3D printed clear PPE face masks to ensure the health and safety of diners and staff.
As of Wednesday, the popular pop-up constructions are completely booked and diners interested in making a reservation can subscribe to a mailing list for updates on future availabilities.
In Hagen, Germany, Novy’s Brasserie has also implemented serving people inside of small glass greenhouses.
Thomas Bielefeld built the small pods with a table in front of his restaurant, so that he can serve his guests outside and at a safe distance, regardless of the weather.
No these people aren’t headed to a lazy river, just a popular waterfront bar and restaurant.
“It’s like a bumper boat but it’s actually a table,” owner Shawn Harman said in a video on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “This is for when we’re allowed to come out here and serve alcohol again on premise. This allows you to be six feet apart by virtue of the bumper.”
Harman said the restaurant currently only has 10 of the social distancing tables and will “adhere to the protocols of the state and the county” once they reopen.
The family-friendly bayfront seafood spot thanked Revolution Event Design and Production, in Baltimore, on social media for building the innovative tables.
Jaqueline Rothe, the owner of the pastry shop and cafe in Schwerin, Germany, is really using her noodle when it comes to making it easy for customers to know how far apart they should be while dining.
Cafe Rothe shared a photo of their first customers after Germany loosened its restrictions for restaurants over the weekend.
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