Downtown Update: Bars v Clubs

We can understand why Elixir Bar was able to reopen over a month ago. In Florida, restaurants were allowed to reopen in Phase 1 albeit with a reduced capacity. Elixir is primarily a restaurant so they were able to reopen their bar and outdoor patio in a bar/club format at night too. But now that we're in Phase 2, there seems to be more than one interpretation regarding reopening. The above photo, courtesy of Ernie Plowden, shows that tables and chairs have been placed on the dance floor. They interpret the reopening rules to say that bars but not clubs can reopen and that there has to be a limited number of table. They're not alone; neighbors Ember, The Patio, The Beacham and Aero Bar will also reopen as early as today.....with tables.

But this is Gilt Nightclub this past Monday night, compliments of Aaron Steel. There are no tables on the dance floor and this is an early evening photo; it got packed later. Tables do exist in certain areas where they usually exist so perhaps those were reduced to the required 50% capacity. Celine opens tonight, they're a club, and it will be interesting to see where their tables are in order to reduce them to 50% capacity.