Syracuse orange-zone restaurants spring back to life with indoor dining

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — One by one, restaurants in the former orange zone encompassing the city of Syracuse are springing back to life now that they can serve customers in their dining rooms again.

The return to customer-filled indoor seats came after New York State on Jan. 14 said restaurants operating in orange zones under its COVID-19 cluster initiative could reopen for indoor dining across the state. That decision came a day after a judge in Erie County on Jan. 13 granted an injunction to lift the ban on dining inside in that county’s orange zone after more than 90 restaurants took the state to court.

The city of Syracuse had been in an orange zone since November, forcing restaurants to close their dining areas and only offer takeout and delivery. Many restaurants said the ban on indoor eating was driving their customers to nearby restaurants outside the city’s orange zone.

One of the Syracuse eateries happy to be open is the Market Diner, a vintage 1950s style diner located at the CNY Regional Market at 2100 Park St. “We are open for dine-in! Come and join us for a cup of coffee this morning at the diner!,” restaurant staff tweeted early in the morning on the 15th. “A day later, the restaurant posted, “In case you didn’t hear, WE ARE OPEN FOR DINE-IN SEATING!!”

The Gem Diner, located at 832 Spencer St., reopened for in-person dining on Tuesday morning, Jan. 19. “We missed you! So excited to start turning out great omelets, burgers, and fries for all our amazing customers!” the diner tweeted four days earlier. “See you on Tuesday at 6am!”

On Wednesday (Jan. 20), Destiny USA announced that 10 restaurants at the mall are once again offering indoor dining. They include Cantina Laredo, Johnny Rockets, PF Chang’s, Texas de Brazil, and The Cheesecake Factory.

The former orange-zone restaurants still have to follow the state’s rules for yellow zones including being limited to a maximum of four people per table. Also, all bars and restaurants, including those not in a color zone, still have to close at 10 p.m. for onsite consumption.