Dining Out in Lawton During Phase One Re-Opening

Coronavirus has disrupted the everyday life of so many across the country.  Where many are self distancing and sheltering in place, many local restaurants were limited to curb pick, or take out service.

Lawton has been pretty lucky in that the confirmed cases of the virus in Comanche County have stayed relatively low, and though the virus has claimed lives, that number is incredibly small.

When Lawton City Council (following State's guidelines) decided to start re-opening dine in options of restaurants, I have to admit, I was still pretty hesitant about going out to eat.  We have been cooking at home and we've been able to pick up food when we didn't.

This weekend, we were celebrating a birthday and Mother's Day, and we couldn't wait another minute for great Mexican food.  Ted's Cafe Escondido in Lawton is our restaurant of choice for Mexican food.  It was the location for our first date, so it's a sentimental choice for us.

I was curious how the 50% capacity would affect our dining experience, but was pleasantly surprised with all of the safety elements that Ted's had ready for our first night out in Lawton.

We had a 5 minute wait to be seated, and everyone in the huge waiting area, voluntarily separated from other groups by 6 feet.  Once at our table, we noticed that every other table was closed to service.  There was nothing on the table when we got there, the server brought our napkins once we were seated. Once we placed our order and were happily munching on chips and queso, I noticed there were no salt shakers and asked for packets.  Again, to my surprise, they did bring a shaker, but told us they have to sanitize them after each use.

Each person that we came into contact with working at the restaurant wore a mask and gloves; from servers to bus personnel, to kitchen help. I was completely satisfied that we were safe from contact, and our first meal out was a success.