With the green light from the governor to open up for outside dining today, local restaurants are implementing new practices - ones they hope will keep their customers safe, and their doors open.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that eateries whose counties are in the yellow phase of his three-part reopening plan can add outdoor dining to their services, as long as they follow health requirements.

Indoor areas and bars of restaurants are still closed to diners, with the exception of through traffic. Self-serve areas, including buffets, are shut off, and condiments on tables are prohibited.

For some restaurants in Carbon, the prospect of entertaining customers again is a welcome one, though it does pose some challenges.

“I’m very happy we can finally open,” said Kevin Zuercher, adding that picnic tables have been spread outside his joint in preparation. His restaurant, Half Time Bar and Grill at the Zoo in Lansford, didn’t have an outdoor eating area before.

It’s an especially difficult situation to navigate for Half Time, Zuercher said, as it just opened under new ownership late last year. Zuercher and his wife, Deanna Zuercher, officially launched the “infamous” sports bar back in November.

“Talk about having a tough time yet,” he said. “You open, then you got to be closed, and now, we’re reopening all over again.”

At the outset, activity at the bar was slow, Zuercher said. But business started picking up. Then came the coronavirus.

Zuercher said the bar accepted takeout orders, but only for two nights a week. “It wasn’t worth us doing any more than that,” he said. “We were losing money at that.”

When his eatery does open, Zuercher said he won’t ask customers to wear masks.

“I’m not requiring nothing,” he said.

Richard Wenner, a part-owner of the Bowmanstown Diner, pointed out that his restaurant has been open for takeout orders since March. “It’s a far cry from what we normally do,” he said.

Now hoping to serve people on the diner’s premises once again, Wenner said quite a few adjustments had to be made first.

A large, white tent was erected in the parking lot. Chip Solt, the owner of Joey B’s in Palmerton, lent some tables and chairs. Rather than using regular menus, Wenner printed out “hundreds and hundreds” of paper ones.

“We are very ecstatic about it,” Wenner said of the diner’s partial reopening. “But there’s a lot of things we have to iron out here because this is not what we’re used to.”

Wenner’s not banking on a faultless Friday opening; in fact, he is expecting rough beginnings. But he said he’s hoping customers will be understanding.

“I just hope people have patience with us,” Wenner said.

“This is our first go-round here, and we’re probably going to hit some snags as we get into this, but we’re going to try to do our best to give everybody a good meal.”

Check with your favorite restaurant to see if they are having outdoor dining. Some other restaurants open for outdoor dining include Boulder View Tavern in Lake Harmony, Macaluso’s in Nesquehoning, Molly Maguires Pub and Steakhouse in Jim Thorpe and P.J. Whelihan’s in Lehighton, reopening for takeout and outdoor dining on Monday.