2 Chainz has reportedly reopened his Atlanta-based Escobar Restaurant and Tapas Lounge for dine-in service, as Georgia heads into its third week of loosened social distancing restrictions. According to TMZ, both locations opened back up on Tuesday (May 5).
Escobar spokesperson Bentley Didier told the outlet that the restaurant is operating under new safety guidelines in the continued effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Some of these precautions include limiting closed-off sections to four or less customers, serving all meals in disposable to-go containers, providing masks and gloves to customers and employees upon request and requiring customers to wash their hands after entering the building. Didier also says that both companies are following guidance from local health and government officials on how best to safely reopen.
As for the restaurant’s hookahs and dance sections, hookahs are now being used with disposable hoses and will be sanitized by employees after every use. Both locations also offer patios, so that customers can avoid clumping too closely together, although Didier also says that restaurant capacity is being limited to avoid large groups. Escobar and Tapas Lounge DJs haven’t returned to either location yet and instead the restaurants are using pre-planned playlists.
Lastly, Didier told the outlet that customers and employees have been thrilled about the reopening. He said many of his friends and coworkers were experiencing stress and depression as a result of self-isolating.
The news arrives after 2 Chainz previously denied that his restaurants would reopen under Georgia’s new guidelines. Instead, he used his Escobar location’s food supply to feed Atlanta’s homeless.
“After careful consideration, we are not going to open our restaurants on Monday (April 27),” the rapper’s business partner Snoop Dillard told TMZ on April 24. “It has not officially been decided when we will start having dine-in service.”