Where Restaurants and Bars Are Closing Again Across the U.S.

The reopening of restaurants across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic has been scattered, inconsistent, and entirely confusing for restaurant workers and diners alike. In some states, restaurants were allowed to reopen for dine-in service with virtually no limits. In others, dining rooms remained closed, while outdoor seating opened to the public, with social distancing measures in place. Some states offered explicit guidelines for reopening, while others left life-or-death decision making up to individual restaurant owners.

But as this haphazard approach made clear, reopening would not be simple or easy; in many cases, restaurants re-closed after members of their own staff contracted the virus. Now, as COVID-19 cases spike nationwide — including some states seeing record highs in new daily cases — several states and some cities are backtracking by closing dining rooms once again, in hopes of controlling the spread of the virus. Others have announced they’re stalling plans to re-open dining rooms.

If restaurant reopenings could be interpreted as a glimmer of hope that maybe — just maybe — the worst of the pandemic had passed, these reclosings are a reminder that the virus is anything but gone. In state after state, indications point to COVID-19 cases spiking after restaurants and bars reopen. On June 30, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s authority on infectious diseases, warned against going to bars. “Congregation at a bar, inside, is bad news,” he said during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. In East Lansing, Michigan, 107 people who visited the same bar over the course of a week tested positive for COVID-19.

This list will be updated frequently, to reflect the reclosing of restaurants and bars. It will also note when restaurants and bars revert to earlier stages of their multi-phase plans. This often means reducing capacities to earlier limits, or closing down a restaurant’s seated bar or buffet station.

Idaho

On June 15, nightclubs and bars in Ada County, which were previously allowed to reopen, are closing after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Florida

On June 26, bars, previously allowed to reopen, are closed after a spike in COVID-19 cases. On July 8, restaurants in Miami-Dade County must close to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Arizona

On June 29, bars, previously allowed to reopen, closed after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Closures will last until July 27, at the earliest.

Texas

On June 29, restaurants reverted to 50 percent capacity, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Bars were also ordered closed.

Colorado

On June 30, bars that do not serve food, previously allowed to reopen, closed after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Closures will last at least 30 days.

Michigan

On July 1, bars, previously allowed to reopen for indoor dining, reverted to takeout and outdoor drinking, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Bars in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, previously allowed to continue indoor service, will revert to takeout-only on July 31.

Pennsylvania

On July 3, restaurants and bars in Allegheny County closed to dine-in service after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Dine-in service set to resume on July 10. On July 16, restaurants and bars across the state reverted to 25 percent capacity, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Tennessee

On July 3, restaurants in Nashville reverted to 50 percent capacity, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. In Davidson County, bars that derive a majority of their revenue from alcohol sales also closed, and will not reopen for at at least two weeks.

Nevada

On July 10, in Clark County and Washoe County, bars that do not serve food closed, to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases.

West Virginia

On July 13, bars in Monongalia County closed. The closure will be in place for at least 10 days, but may be extended.

California

On July 13, restaurants and bars across the state closed to dine-in service, and reverted to a delivery and takeout model, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Louisiana

On July 13, bars closed to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. On August 26, the order was extended, and bars will remain closed to dine-in service until September 11, at the earliest.

New Mexico

On July 13, restaurants and breweries closed to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Maryland

On July 22, the mayor of Baltimore announced that restaurants in the city must close to dine-in service by the end of the week, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. The closures will be in place for two weeks, but may be extended.

Illinois

On July 24, bars in Chicago closed to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Kentucky

On July 28, bars across the state closed to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. The closures will last at least two weeks. Restaurants offering dine-in service reverted to 25 percent capacity.

Iowa

On August 27, bars, breweries, and nightclubs in Polk, Linn, Johnson, Story, Dallas and Black Hawk counties closed to dine-in service, after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Under the new order, restaurants in these counties must stop the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. The closures will last until September 20, at the earliest.