Eater Seattle Survey Respondents Say They’re Easing Into Dining Out

After 15 months of rolling shutdowns, on June 30, Washington finally lifted most of its COVID-related restrictions, including restaurant capacity restrictions. But not all Seattle residents are rushing to eat out, according to a recent Eater survey. And even those who take advantage of the relaxed rules seem to be slacking off, which makes sense given the increasing spread of the Delta variant, which continues to alarm officials.

Out of nearly 500 responses, about 55 percent of respondents said they are currently eating out, but only 24 percent said they were completely comfortable with the experience (45 percent said they would prefer the staff and Knowing other customers were fully vaccinated and around 30 percent said they were not feeling well at all).

Regarding the frequency of eating, around 59 percent of respondents said they went out to eat “every now and then” this summer, compared with 30.5 percent who said they went out “once or twice a week” and only 9 .9 percent who said they wanted to dine in restaurants “as often as I can”.

Despite the fact that King County officially ended its indoor masking mandate on June 29, guests are still taking precautions on that as well. 64 percent of respondents said they still wear face coverings in restaurants, except when eating and drinking at a table. Additionally, a large majority of respondents (78.6 percent) said they prefer outdoor dining over indoor options, and they generally seemed divided about whether restaurants should check vaccination status (52.7 percent said no).

Meanwhile, the overwhelming consensus on what pandemic-related adjustments should continue long-term has been robust take-away options (including take-away cocktails), expanded outdoor seating, and more hand sanitizer everywhere. A surprisingly popular convenience was QR codes on menus, which at least 34 percent of respondents found useful. And in case you’re wondering about tipping these days, the vast majority of respondents still end up at the usual 20 percent, with around a fifth saying they tip at least 25 percent (there’s a very small margin who tips a lot more).

Below are some more thoughts from respondents.

My wife and I have only eaten in restaurants when there is an outdoor option (or very open seating). Otherwise we stick to take away.

If you are vaccinated you should now be able to live your life normally. The end.

Make mask compulsory in all indoor areas and request proof of vaccination to enter indoor areas visited by the public. Yes, even private businesses and restaurants. The restaurant owners don’t care about the health of their staff if they don’t do the masks or the vaccination certificate, that’s why there is so much staff shortage, the staff are smarter than the owners.

I feel safe and comfortable now that I am vaccinated, but I like to follow any company’s guidelines (so I mask myself if I want).

I have young, unvaccinated children, and even adults who are only vaccinated may not be entirely comfortable if they can revive their dose.

So far, our take-away has been that it is simply too expensive to eat out. After not eating out for so long, I don’t think we’ll ever go back to our old routine of eating out at least twice a week. It’s fun to be out, but we came home from restaurants and wondered why we went out in the first place. The magic of sitting and waiting for food in noisy places with high prices is over. At this point, it’s just a special occasion. We’ll try again in the fall when we get back to the office. Maybe it’s worth it then?

Let restaurants decide if they want to keep customizations. Shouldn’t be regulated. They will succeed or fail because of their actions. Looking forward to eating out more again.

Make it so that only fully vaccinated people can dine indoors (or take part in indoor activities). Vax up and help protect others or stay at home!

Government should continue to fund restaurants and outdoor seating should become a permanent issue.

I prefer takeout or just alfresco dining. I am vaccinated, but my children are not. We’re not going to eat inside anytime soon! Only when they are vaccinated AND the presence of the delta variant decreases.

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