Restaurants gearing up for move to 50% capacity after Gov. Wolf amends rules

PITTSBURGH — Starting Monday, restaurants and bars will be allowed to have up to 50% capacity after Gov. Wolf amended his guidelines. Places that want to allow more people will have to agree to “self-certification.”

Aviva Brick Oven, a family restaurant in Warrendale, is firing up its oven, preparing for more customers. But is increasing capacity enough for many businesses like Aviva to survive, especially with outdoor dining options falling away with the changing seasons?

>>>MORE INFO: Indoor dining capacity in Pa. increasing to 50%

“No, I don’t believe there’s been anything fair in this whole process since it began,” said owner Jay Sebes.

Sebes said he wished Wolf would reconsider allowing direct bar service and alcohol sales without food.

“You got holidays coming up, you have football season coming back. People like to come in and just have a beer or two,” he said.

Another part of the amended rules includes stopping on-site alcohol sales at 11 p.m.

“There are a lot of sports bars around here. Again, games are going well into 10:30, 11 at night and people want to sit around and watch the end of the game,” Sebes said.

Some restaurant owners to whom Channel 11 spoke said they were concerned that by filling out the self-certification documents, they would signing away their legal rights. Owners who sign up have to agree to follow the guidelines, and if they do not they could be held criminally responsible.

“Gov. Wolf’s mandate is concerning because it’s an inducement upon restaurant owners to sign a form that would potentially make them criminally culpable for unsworn falsification to authorities,” attorney Phil DiLucente said.

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So if an owner signs up, they are required to follow the rules, but if they don’t, they are losing out on valuable money in their pocket.

“There is some concern we are opening ourselves up for someone to come in and take a look and say ‘Hey, you check this box or you put your signature on this. You’re not doing X, Y, Z’,” Sebes said.

Sebes said he does plan to sign the forms, but understands those who will say no.

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