The countdown is on to the state's coronavirus curfew.Starting Saturday night at 10 and continuing each night for the next month until 5 a.m. on Dec. 21, San Diego County will be under a limited stay-at-home-order.
For many restaurants like Backyard Kitchen & Tap, in Pacific Beach, it will mean closing a little earlier.
"We’re gonna lose a solid hour of dinner business," Assistant General Manager Jenna Barger said. "It’s really gonna hurt us.”
Barger said the restaurant is already feeling financial pain from all of the changes over the last eight months.
‘Two-thirds of our restaurant we can’t use at the moment because it is indoors," Barger said. “We’re spending I don’t know how much money on propane each week just to make guests feel comfortable with all the heaters. Just everything. It’s a lot.”
Barger said it's also getting harder and harder to enforce the growing list of restrictions.
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"They can’t come in and just drink, they have to buy food," Barger said. "There’s already so many rules, and just adding this on top of it, I think we’re gonna get a lot of pushback.”
Customer Zeus Rodriguez said the curfew won't really impact him, but he has already heard from people who aren't too excited about it.
"Encroaching on people’s freedoms is a serious thing, and I know people in PB and, especially, in OB aren’t too happy about that," Rodriguez said.
On Friday, Eric Adams was visiting PB from Ventura, Calif., which will also be under the curfew order. He called it "ridiculous."
“I don’t believe the government can tell you when or when you can’t decide to leave your house or meet up with your friends,” Adams said.
But Melinda Gonzalez said she thinks the curfew is necessary.
“I have kids that aren’t going to school right now, and their education is suffering because our numbers are too high," Gonzalez said. "If we have to sacrifice going to bars and restaurants so we can open our schools, then I think that’s what we need to be focusing on.”
Barger said her restaurant is already making sacrifices and is hoping people follow the rules so some of the restrictions will eventually be lifted.
“We all have to do this together," Barger said. "If we don’t, we’re all in big trouble."
Under the limited stay-at-home order, residents can still leave their homes for essential reasons, like going to work, the grocery store or to pick up takeout food.
The curfew will be in effect through Dec. 21 at 5 a.m.
