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Some Restaurateurs Are Hesitant To Resume Indoor Dining

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L.A. County residents and visitors will once again be able to dine indoors and go to movie theaters as the region moves into the red tier of reopening this week.

Under the red tier, restaurants can resume indoor dining with a handful of restrictions, and museums, zoos, aquariums and other venues can reopen at 25% capacity.

Many restaurateurs have been counting the days to reopening — but others have hesitations.

Sylvie Gabriele, owner of Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach, said she’s not quite ready to open for indoor dining, but as other neighboring restaurants begin to offer that option, she will likely feel pressured to do the same.

“If we stay closed, we're pretty much just handing over our business to other restaurants,” she said. “I’m not as comfortable opening up as I thought I would be ... [but] we will probably be pressured to open sooner than I’d really like.”

Manhattan Beach has had more than 1,200 cases of COVID-19, and 19 residents have died from the virus. As a whole, L.A. County has had more than 1.2 million cases, and nearly 22,500 deaths.

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