After months of closed doors, takeout or dining in tents, restaurants in Umatilla County are bringing diners back indoors for the first time since November 2020.

At the Cozy Corner tavern on Hermiston’s Main Street, Anna Shuttleworth was serving five patrons late Monday afternoon, March 1. The tavern had been completely closed during the prohibition on indoor dining and drinking, and Shuttleworth said she and the other two bartenders are thrilled to be “up and roaring” again.

“We’re all here and all excited to be back to work,” she said.

Umatilla County’s move from the extreme risk category for COVID-19 to high risk on Friday, Feb. 26, doesn’t mean business is back at full throttle for restaurants, but they are allowed to serve patrons at 25% of the building’s capacity, with no more than two households and six people to a table and parties spaced at least 6 feet apart. Capacity caps will continue to rise as the county moves down through the moderate risk and low risk levels.

The Cozy Corner, which was remodeled during its shutdown, has room to space people out along a long bar and a collection of tables. Shuttleworth said their reopening includes beer, food, and the lottery machines in the back.

Several other downtown Hermiston restaurants were also open for indoor dining on March 1. At La Palma, yellow caution tape marked off every other booth, spacing customers who were eating there well over 6 feet apart. While seating is limited, staff said a reservation is not required.

Hale’s Restaurant on the next block also had a few in-person diners inside, with a sign out front advertising both indoor dining and takeout options. Staff said no reservations are necessary to stop by. Veg Out was also open for indoor dining and takeout, as was Pho Quan Vietnamese Cuisine. At Trina’s Mexican Restaurant, Victor Ruiz said while the restaurant is small, there are three tables they are able to offer up for indoor dining.

In Stanfield, The Broken Barrel once again has tables available for indoor dining.

“We have seen a lot of our regulars back and we are so excited to see them,” owner Martha McClusky said.

She said like many in the restaurant business, she and her staff got into the industry because they enjoy building relationships with customers and talking with people who come in, so operating on a takeout-only basis during much of the pandemic has been difficult.

She asked that people be patient as they adjust to having diners back in person, as the county has been in extreme risk for so long that some of her staff have never worked with indoor dining customers before.

“We’re just happy to be back open again,” she said.

If Umatilla County’s COVID-19 cases and percentage of positive tests continues to trend downward, the next level on the state’s risk assessment is moderate, which allows indoor dining at 50% capacity. If cases go back up enough to send the county back to extreme risk, restaurants would have to go back to outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.