Restaurants in Chico expand indoor dining services

Action News Now spoke with the owner of Tres Hombres in Chico who says they are prepared to expand their indoor dining areas.

Now that butte county is in the orange tier -- restaurants and some other businesses can expand indoor capacity to 50%..

New at 5 -- action news now reporter kristian lopez is live in chico, kristian will we see most restaurants taking advantage of the leeway?

Yes the owner of tres hombres says they've been getting ready for this and can't wait to welcome more customers back into the dining room this weekend.... nats margarita being made.

Michael thomas/owner of tres hombres: everybody is excited to provide more seats for people and be able to see old friends we haven't seen in a while.

Nats.

Tres hombres in chico - now able to seat more people inside.

Owner michael thomas says the road to get here has been challenging.

Michael thomas/owner of tres hombres: having someone else making decisions that you have to react to is really difficult and its difficult being open if you're only going to do 50% of your normal sales.

But he says they are taking advantage of the new rules - while taking all the necessary precautions.

Kristian stand up: here at the bar they have these plexi glass dividers that they can move in between the barstools to keep people safe.

And it's a theme you'll see all around the restaurant.... michael thomas/owner of tres hombres: the plexiglass coming indoors is new for us to go from 25 to 50% but he says the limited space inside doesnt allow them to completely get to that 50 % capacity.

Michael thomas/owner of tres hombres: we cant get to that number it'll probably be about 45 percent because of the 6 feet rule in place.

Michael thomas/owner of tres hombres: being able to open more indoors and having people feel safe is our key concern and our main goal.

Also coming with the orange tier territory --