Bars, breweries can reopen Wednesday for outdoor service; Lakefront Trail to reopen June 22

Signage will be installed along the trail to educate runners, walkers, bikers and in-line skaters of the new rules. “Social distancing ambassadors” will be stationed along the path to manage the flow of traffic.

SHARE Bars, breweries can reopen Wednesday for outdoor service; Lakefront Trail to reopen June 22
A man ignores a “trail closed” sign on the Lakefront Trail near Oak Street Beach as the city closes the area to pedestrians amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic, Thursday morning, March 26, 2020.

The Lakefront Trail, closed since March, will reopen June 22, it was announced Monday.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

After being closed for nearly three months, Chicago’s Lakefront Trail will reopen on June 22, but only during limited hours for “keep it moving” activities like exercise and transit, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.

Under fire for treating bars and breweries differently than restaurants, the mayor also announced “bars, lounges, taverns and breweries” that don’t serve food can reopen Wednesday. But just like restaurants, they will be limited to outdoor service at tables that must remain six feet apart, with a six-person limit at each table.

Seating at drinking-only establishments will be capped at two hours per party. The sale of alcohol for on-site consumption must end at 11 p.m. Carryout and deliveries must end at 9 p.m. under the new rules.

Given the short notice, some proprietors said they won’t be ready to start pouring drinks on Wednesday.

John Laffler, co-founder of Off Color Brewing, which operates The Mousetrap taproom on the Near North Side, predicted his establishment likely wouldn’t open until sometime next week.

“We’re all sort of incredibly wary about reopening and inviting guests back in,” he noted. “I think everybody should be.”

And while Laffler said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) has been supportive amid the closure, he claimed it’s been difficult to get through to officials in Lightfoot’s office in recent weeks.

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“We’ve been sort of trying to convince the mayor to give us the green light to go ahead and reopen outside to bring us in line with all the other restaurants and taverns,” he said. “But we have not really heard anything back from the mayor’s office until today.”

As for the two-hour limit, Laffler noted The Mousetrap will use a reservation system to “strictly enforce” that rule, which he said will allow his staff to thoroughly sanitize tables between parties.

Laffler said patrons will be required to preorder drinks when making a reservation, a move he acknowledged is “less than ideal.”

“Part of good service is being good hosts, but for us being the best host is making sure that people don’t get sick and die,” he said. “Things are going to have to look different than they did before.”

That’s “before” as in before state and local stay-home orders, followed on March 26 by Lightfoot’s decision to close the lakefront and all its parks, trails and beaches because Chicagoans could not be trusted to maintain social distance.

The lakefront — one of Chicago’s most iconic and treasured resources — has remained closed even as the rest of Chicago, including the downtown Riverwalk, has gradually reopened.

With every passing day of warm, glorious weather, pressure has intensified on the mayor to loosen her iron-fisted grip.

But she needed to find a way to, as she put it, “play to the lowest common denominator: the person who’s just not gonna pay attention. What do we do to make sure we keep that person safe and minimize the risk they’re gonna pose to other people?”

On Monday, Lightfoot used her Facebook page to make the announcement that Chicago runners and cyclists have waited for.  

“Excited to share the news . . . our Lakefront Trail will be reopening on June 22 for exercise and transit!” In a follow-up press release, Lightfoot noted the 18-mile trail would be open east of Lake Shore Drive — but only from 6 a.m to 7 p.m. “No other recreational activities will be allowed.”

That means people using the Lakefront Trail must abide by a “keep it moving” strategy where “only walking, running, biking and Rollerblading” will be allowed.

Until further notice, “stationery activities” like fitness classes, barbecues, picnics and sunbathing remain off-limits. So will pools, playgrounds, beaches, basketball courts and athletic fields, tennis courts and fitness equipment.

To control the volume of users, roughly half the access points — including bridges, underpasses and streets — will remain closed.

The new rules will be jointly enforced by Chicago Park District security and Chicago police officers working in tandem with the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Signs installed along the trail will educate runners, walkers, bikers and in-line skaters about the new rules. “Social distancing ambassadors” stationed along the path will manage the flow of traffic, reminding users to keep moving and to wear face masks at all times.

Citing significant storm damage caused by high lake levels, the city also announced three sections of the trail would “merge to accommodate users.”

From Fullerton to North Avenue, there will be a shared trail. From North to Ohio Street, trail users will be redirected to an on-street detour. From 43rd to 51st Streets, users will merge onto one trail.

“We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars back online with outside services and, of course, taking our first, cautious move toward reopening our beloved lakefront,” the mayor was quoted as saying.

Greg Hipp, executive director of the 10,000-strong Chicago Area Runners Association, had suggested Chicago follow Seattle’s lead with a “keep moving” plan from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“We initially had proposed shorter hours, but we’re glad that the Park District and the city felt like they could have the resources necessary with social distance ambassadors to keep the trail open for more hours,” Hipp said Monday. “From a runners’ perspective, getting to start earlier in the morning would be ideal. At 5 a.m., there’s people up already. With anything, you can accept a little bit of give and take. But, from a runners’ perspective, earlier than 6 a.m. or a little bit later when it’s cooler is ideal.”

Hipp said he “understands the challenges the mayor was under” to protect public health and prevent the spike in coronavirus cases that has occurred already in other cities and states that have reopened.

But, he added: “We certainly felt like the trail could have been opened safely sooner….We felt like through traffic has been safe for a while. But, everything takes time. We’re glad to be there now.”

Hipp said he’s confident a “majority” of people will abide by the keep-moving edict.

“That’s the primary type of use that is out there on the lakefront already, so that’s natural to the lakefront,” he said.

Chris Hastings, president of the Chicago Sport & Social Club said his organization is chomping at the bit to begin operating sports leagues along the lakefront for 1,000 adults.

But Hastings acknowledged that the “phased approach makes some sense.”

“I understand wanting to open things in a managed way to make sure that people are following social distancing guidelines and it is controlled so that, hopefully, managing the spread of coronavirus continues,” Hastings said.

Dick Vonachen, owner of The Ten Cat Tavern in Lake View, while happy to be able to reopen, is also happy Lightfoot “waited this long” to allow it to happen. Still, he worries the large-scale demonstrations in Chicago over the killing of George Floyd could lead to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases here.

“I’m a little concerned about the thousands of protesters within the last two weeks,” he said. “That may be showing up over the next week.”

Vonachen said he emptied the bar out earlier this month in the wake of the recent unrest across the city. Like Laffler, Vonachen has been in touch with his alderman, Matt Martin (47th) but hadn’t received any prior guidance from the mayor’s office.

“We’ll at least be open by Friday because we had kind of torn down the whole bar when they were doing the looting and everything,” Vonachen said, though looters didn’t target his neighborhood. “So we’re trying to put it all back together right now, and I wish we had a little bit more lead time on this decision here.”

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