Area restaurants making every effort to keep customers cool and coming back

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - Dining al fresco can be pretty relaxing. A chance to enjoy the outdoors with good food and friends. But, it’s hard to enjoy much of anything when it’s this hot.           

The ovens are fired up at the White Dog Café in Wayne and so are the fans under the tent in the outdoor dining area, as the restaurant tries to keep customers cool in the blistering heat.

“We’re in the shade, got the fan going. It’s comfortable. It’s better than sitting in the house,” Joe Truax added.

With no relief from the extreme heat expected for days, it can be challenging for restaurants now relying on outdoor dining. So, what’s going through GM Mike Gillespie’s mind?

“Hopefully everyone who made outdoor reservations wanted to still sit outside because we are just so limited of what we can do inside. Can’t sit at the bar, everything is spaced out, everything is at 25 percent capacity. It’s a little tricky,” Gillespie commented.

The sound of the fountain at Coyote Crossing in Conshohocken is certainly cooling on a steamy summer night.

“It’s not as hot as I thought it would be,” Tahira Peterkin said. “To be honest, after quarantine, just feels really good to be outside.”

Owner Carlos Melendez says he’s fortunate to have a large outdoor seating area with lots of shade.

“Trees provide a nice. Canopy, so it doesn’t feel that hot out here,” Melendez stated.

But, Melendez admits during the heat of the day, it can be tough.

“I think we lose some business during lunchtime. People don’t want to be seated in 100 degree weather,” Melendez added.

Still, he’s more worried about what might happen in the fall and winter if the pandemic persists and the restaurant guidelines continue to change.

“Any business that operates at less than 75 percent capacity, you are pretty much dead. It’s very difficult,” Melendez said.

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