El Paso restaurants mixed on whether to open at full capacity

EL PASO, Texas -- Restaurants throughout Texas will have the green light to open their doors fully on Wednesday as Gov. Greg Abbott lifts occupancy pandemic restrictions.

The decision on whether to open up fully rests solely on the individual restaurant owners though, and in El Paso there has been a mixed response.

Pamela Azaeta, owner of District Coffee in downtown El Paso, said she will keep her shop at 50% capacity for the time being. The shop also has increased safety measures by adding sanitation stations and posting a multitude of signs that remind customers to wear a mask.

“We feel it’s the best for the community and it’s just a way of helping Covid not to spread, so we want to make sure we keep those measures in place,” explained Azaeta.

But the same can not be said for some other restaurants.

“We will be going 100%," Eddie Camargo, manager of Rockstar Burger Bar, said.

Camargo said his owners and staff are excited to be able to fill their tables up to full capacity. He said he's even hired more staff anticipating an increase in business.

“We do have our repeated customers because of our customer service and people feeling comfortable so they are actually voicing and saying, 'Yeah, we are going to come back, we like this place, it’s locally owned,'” Camargo said.

The Rockstar Burger Bar will continue to require their staff and customers to wear a mask if they are not seated at a table.