LONG BEACH, Calif. – The lights are still dim and the drinks full at the Stache Bar in Long Beach. Customers are still lined up outside the door and bar manager, Denise Pla is still very busy running around behind the bar.

But compared to a typical summer night at the Stache Bar, that's where the similarities end. 

 

What You Need To Know


  • Los Angeles bars were part of the county's latest wave of reopening

  • To reopen, bars must implement social distancing, reduced capacity, mandated face coverings

  • The Stache Bar in Long Beach has reopened with limited capacity

  • The reopenings come as LA County continues to see an increase in case numbers

 

“We’re used to being really hectic and really busy during this time," Pla explained. "It’s kind of hard to be like, 'We can serve 10 people and everyone needs to sit far apart.' It’s drastic.”

For the last three and a half months, the Stache has done its best to stay afloat amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

Because they are connected to the Sideburns restaurant next door, they were fortunate to be able to continue servicing to-go and takeout orders. However, they had little choice but to keep their actual bar closed. 

“The bar was completely shut down," Pla said. "It kind of saved us to be honest being able to serve food. If we were just a bar we wouldn’t be to this point.”

Even as Friday, June 19 marked their official reopening — under L.A. County's latest phase — it's a new reality for local dive bars, that have to navigate under expanded rules with limited space. 

“We already don’t have a large capacity. Our bar is very small and narrow so when we’re packed we’re packed," she said.

Pla and her fellow bartenders were given guidelines to implement new standards of sanitization and had to install plexiglass at the bar. 

She is also forced to limit her capacity inside by about 50 percent and to make sure each customer who enters is wearing a mask at all times, aside from when they are directly eating or drinking. 

 

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The smaller numbers impact their revenue overall, but as Pla said, something is better than nothing. 

“We’re doing OK. We’re just figuring it out as we go," she explained.

And after a long hiatus, Pla said the community is thankful to have this small bit of normalcy back, happy to be able to go out and visit their local bar. 

“After everything, having your local watering hole open, it’s important to people," Pla said. "I think people are so excited to be out again.”