The Tippecanoe County health department lifted some restrictions on bars and restaurants on Wednesday after the county maintained low COVID-19 cases for four consecutive weeks.
The county health department said that Tippecanoe County has fallen within the “yellow” advisory leveldesignation for the fourth consecutive week.
The new health order lifts a 1 a.m. curfew for restaurants and bars and allows bar top seating during all hours of operation so long as social distancing is still adhered to. Previously bar top seating ended at 9 o’clock.
Kaylee Belange is the front-of-house manager at Hunter’s Pub in West Lafayette. She said the new orders won’t impact them much - but the curfew change will likely help the campus bars.
“I’m hoping it at least helps those bars out,” she said. “Especially I like to go out to the bar when I get off and it’s a minor inconvenience when I don’t get out of here until 11:30 and I get there and at like 12:30 they’re like ‘last call’ and I’ve only been there for a few drinks.”
Belange said because the pub has a lot of older regulars they’ve been extra cautious about following health orders.
“A lot of our regulars are in that age range of being susceptible to it,” she said. “Sanitation, gloves, bagging everything, all that. We’ve created a great system.”
She said going back and forth on the various health restrictions over the course of the pandemic has become a part of everyday life at Hunter's.
“So long as we’re staying out of the red zone when it comes to the county I’m willing to do whatever as long as we stay open and I still have a job,” she said. “That’s kinda been my biggest thing.”