LUZERNE, Pa. — Mark Mettler of Dallas and his granddaughter Francesca are looking forward to spending some time together since she's off from school for the Easter holiday.
"She wants to spend the day with me. We were going to go fishing, but it's a little cold out. So, we decided to come out for lunch," explained Mettler.
Lunch at The Grille in Luzerne. It's decked out for Easter. Sabrina Seitz says she knows this Easter at her family's restaurant will be better than last year's
"We were closed. No, we weren't even open for takeout at that point, so this place was abandoned," laughed Seitz. "No one was here at all."
On Sunday, changes go into effect for restaurants like The Grille. Including an increase to 75% capacity for self-certified restaurants with the state.
"And with the 75% will be pretty much like on any table that is available in here can be used and full," added Seitz.
While some customers told Newswatch 16, just because some restrictions are being lifted doesn't mean the pandemic is over. Others said they were happy to have a sense of normalcy back for the Easter holiday.
"Yeah, with the 75% deal being higher than it was, it's, it's great to know that other people go out, you can see your friends, you're not locked up in the house. I can get fresh air, good food and support the local community. The local restaurants that need help," said Mettler.
"Right now, with the 75%, everything does still have to be six feet apart, so we're still social distance," explained Seitz. "It doesn't give us many extra tables because, like, the building doesn't get any bigger, but we're excited to have as many people in here as possible while still keeping everyone safe."
The Grille will be doing sit-down service on Easter until 3 p.m. and take-out until 2:30 pm.