Los Angeles cafe turns parking lot into socially-distanced greenhouse dining pods

Record ID: 1562188

  • Title: Los Angeles cafe turns parking lot into socially-distanced greenhouse dining pods
  • Date: 8th July 2020
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 1, 2020) (REUTERS) SERVER WALKING UP TO GREENHOUSE AT LADY BYRD CAFE AND TALKING TO CUSTOMERS INSIDE REBECCA HIGH, 32, DRINKING WINE INSIDE GREENHOUSE WITH HER FRIEND THESSA VILLEGAS, 34 POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT FROM SANDWICH PLATE BEING CARRIED BY SERVER AND PLACED ON TABLE IN FRONT OF HIGH AND VILLEGAS HIGH AND VILLEGAS AT TABLE AS MORE FOOD IS PLACED ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) THESSA VILLEGAS, 34, CUSTOMER, SAYING: "I think this is amazing. This is what I think we have needed for a very long time in merging that safety plus the whole experiencing social interaction. So I think this is the holy grail of dining, almost. WINDOW OPEN AT TOP OF GREENHOUSE WHERE HIGH AND VILLEGAS ARE DINING WOMAN WALKING OUT OF ANOTHER GREENHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REBECCA HIGH, 32, CUSTOMER, SAYING: "Very safe. This is the first dining experience I have had since, like, March 5th, 8th, 9th? So, yeah, I feel pretty at ease actually." VARIOUS OF MISTY MANSOURI, OWNER OF LADY BYRD CAFE, WALKING TO GREENHOUSE AND POURING WINE FOR CUSTOMERS INSIDE MANSOURI TALKING TO CUSTOMERS AT DOOR OF GREENHOUSE CUSTOMER LOOKING AT MENU (SOUNDBITE) (English) MISTY MANSOURI, OWNER OF LADY BYRD CAFE, SAYING: "Well, so the CDC guidelines are really you just have to be six feet apart, right? I just went the extra step to make sure that people feel extra comfortable. Like, there's people who have, many of the people who have dined here, this has been their first experience and they feel super-safe. And then, of course, they're thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each use." CLEANING PRODUCTS AND HAND SANITIZER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MISTY MANSOURI, OWNER OF LADY BYRD CAFE, SAYING: "So I did these lovely greenhouses and here they are right behind me. We're calling them our bungalows or birdhouses. We will be naming them each at some point. So we took over our parking lot and we created a little bit of a garden." SERVER TAKING SALAD INTO GREENHOUSE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DINING INSIDE GREENHOUSE WOMAN PICKING UP FACE MASK FROM TABLE TO GO OUTSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MISTY MANSOURI, OWNER OF LADY BYRD CAFE, SAYING: "They are a little warm. They do have windows up top, which, I don't know if everybody knows that, there's open air up top. We have little fans. We do suggest to our customers not to come in the middle of a scorching hot day and to come in the morning or later in the day, like, after 4.30. They're really lovely in the evening and they're really lovely in the morning." GREENHOUSES AND BLUE LINES PAINTED ON GROUND SHOWING WHERE CARS USED TO PARK WHEN THE AREA WAS A PARKING LOT SERVER PUTTING PLATES OF FOOD ON TABLE INSIDE GREENHOUSE VARIOUS OF FLOWERS IN GARDEN AND PEOPLE DINING GREENHOUSES AND FLOWERS MARKET STALL SELLING FRUIT AND OTHER ITEMS, SET UP NEXT TO GREENHOUSES APPLES AT MARKET STALL PASTRIES AND JARS OF SAUCE AT MARKET STALL LADY BYRD CAFE SIGN ON WALL ABOVE GREENHOUSES
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2020 17:25
  • Keywords: COVID-19 Los Angeles cafe coronavirus dining greenhouses
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CLY7L21
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A Los Angeles cafe has filled its parking lot with individual greenhouse dining pods, to ensure social distancing and help diners feel safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
    The Lady Byrd Cafe in the city's trendy Echo Park neighborhood closed its doors at the start of the pandemic in March, and owner Misty Mansouri took the time to transform the restaurant's expansive outdoor space into a garden filled with flowers, herbs and plants, where she installed the private glass cabins.
    Mansouri said the pods are cleaned and sanitized after each use and comply with coronavirus guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    "The CDC guidelines are really you just have to be six feet apart, right? I just went the extra step to make sure that people feel extra comfortable," she said. "Many of the people who have dined here, this has been their first experience and they feel super-safe."
    Mansouri was inspired by images of similar dining spaces in Europe. Dutch restaurant ETEN introduced glass dining huts on its waterside patio in May.
    Thessa Villegas, 34, who convinced her reluctant friend Rebecca High to go out for lunch by showing her the greenhouses on the cafe's website, called the experience the 'holy grail of dining'.
    "I think this is amazing. This is what I think we have needed for a very long time in merging that safety plus the whole experiencing social interaction," she said.
    The only drawback to the pods, Mansouri said, is that, although they have roof windows and fans, they can get warm inside during the heat of a Los Angeles summer day.
    "They're really lovely in the evening and they're really lovely in the morning," she said.
    California Governor Gavin Newsom has put a temporary ban on indoor dining in most of the state as COVID-19 infections surge, but dining outside is still allowed.
    (Production: Alan Devall, Rollo Ross, Jane Ross)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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