Restaurant Re-Opening Resources

For current eligibility for vaccination, please visit Alameda County Public Health's website.

In the meantime, please protect yourself from COVID-19 by wearing a mask, keeping your distance from others, avoiding crowds, and washing your hands frequently.

To learn more about vaccine planning in Alameda County, please visit their website.

Employer Vaccination Toolkit
If you’re an employer who is interested in supporting your employees in getting vaccinated, please review the information in the toolkit.

October 8, 2021: SB 389 allows restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries that sell food to offer to-go alcoholic beverages with food orders through December 31, 2026. The legislation builds on Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regulatory relief announced by the Governor in June that extended the sale of to-go alcoholic beverages with food deliveries through the end of the year. A signing message for SB 389 can be found here. Additional legislation gives businesses, that temporarily expanded their premises outdoors, a one-year grace period after the end of the emergency to apply for permanent expansion.

August 2, 2021: Alameda County health order requires all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face coverings when indoors in public settings, with limited exceptions, starting at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, August 3. Face Covering Order FAQ. Businesses, venue operators, individuals, hosts, and others responsible for operation of indoor public settings must:

1. Require all patrons to wear face coverings for all indoor settings, regardless of their vaccination status; and
2. Post clearly visible and easy-to-read signage at all entry points for indoor settings to communicate the masking requirements to all patrons.

July 26, 2021: California puts vaccine verification in effect for healthcare workers and state employees

July 16, 2021: Bay Area Counties Recommend Masking Indoors for Everyone as a Precaution Against Increased Circulation of COVID-19

Effective June 15: State Guidance - Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors

Community Updates for Employers - recorded on Monday, June 21, 6 - 7:30 p.m. by Alameda County Health Care Services Agency

Food Worker COVID-19 Health Safety Toolkit - Source: CDC Foundation and Food & Society the Aspen Institute

All workplaces governed by Cal/OSHA must follow their current standards and the updated standards starting June 17, including masking requirements for employees.

Alameda County Workplace Guidance

All businesses permitted to operate indoors must follow the CDPH interim guidance for ventilation, filtration, and air quality. This guidance includes practical steps your business can take to promote better ventilation, filtration, and air quality indoors to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

December 10: ABC provides industry guidance on cocktails to-go and sale of sealed containers; Alameda County will align and follow this guidance.

Mask Required For Entry Poster: Arabic | Amharic | Burmese | Chinese (Simplified) | Chinese (Traditional) | English | Khmer | Korean | Spanish | Swahili | Tagalog | Tigrinya | Vietnamese

Face Covering Sign for Businesses by Alameda County (PDF): ENGLISH | SPANISH | CHINESE (Simplified) | CHINESE (Traditional) | KOREAN | ARABIC | TAGALOG | VIETNAMESE | CAMBODIAN

General Business Ventilation Guidance During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Source: Alameda County Public Health

December 10: ABC provides industry guidance on cocktails to-go and sale of sealed containers; Alameda County will align and follow this guidance.

COVID-19 Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening - Source: California Department of Public Health

COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Dine-In Restaurants - Source: State of California

COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Restaurants, Bars, and Wineries - Source: California Department of Public Health

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Industry Considerations for Restaurant & Bar Operators

Reopening Resources by Industry - Source: International Economic Development Council

ReOpening Guide signs by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (PDF), in partnership with Oaklandish and the Economic Recovery Advisory Council, 11" x 17" signs for download. Pick up hard copies from any Oakland Chamber, Business Improvement District or CIty Council office. ENGLISH | CHINESE | SPANISH | VIETNAMESE

Employers must report workplace-related outbreaks to the local health department. An outbreak is defined as 3 or more positive employee cases within an exposed group.

Track and keep a record of all COVID-19 cases with employee's name, contact information, occupation, location worked, date of last day at workplace and date of positive COVID-19 test.

Report positive cases using the online portal.

Review Alameda County Public Health Department's step-by-step instructions.

Have a question? Email COVIDWorkplace@acgov.org.

On January 1, 2021, AB 685 went into effect. The law requires businesses to notify employees of potential COVID-19 exposure at the workplace within one business day of exposure. The law remains in effect until January 1, 2023.

California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
Employers with more than 25 employees must provide 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for eligible employees who are:

• Isolating/quarantining related to COVID-19
• Attending appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine
• Experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19 vaccine
• Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
• Caring for a family member who is subject to quarantine or isolation
• Caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed due to COVID-19

The Supplemental Paid Sick Leave extends through September 30, 2021. 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave FAQs

California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions

Dine-in restaurants should consider adapting to a takeout and/or delivery model.

At its meeting on July 28, 2020, Oakland City Council unanimously approved an Ordinance that caps service charges at 15% on third-party food delivery.

An important consideration is engaging apps to support online ordering and/or delivery. Many of the food delivery services have waived sign-up fees for new, locally owned restaurants, reduced commissions charged to restaurants, and/or will work with businesses individually to up their web/mobile presence. Below is a sampling of various apps as a resource; these listings do not constitute endorsements.

1. DoorDash/Caviar (ordering and delivery): No fee to sign up and use DoorDash for first 30 days. 15% commission fees for locally owned restaurants during SIP. Same day payments to restaurants. DoorDash/Caviar will connect struggling restaurants without an existing bank relationship to its partner bank, BlueVine, to provide access to an SBA-approved lender for PPP loans. COVID-19 merchant assistance.
2. GrubHub (ordering and delivery): No sign-up costs now or ever. Provides translation services.
3. Ordrslip (ordering): One-on-one support to get POS system installed and operating, and to build restaurant’s own website. During SIP, waiving $1000 setup fee and $100 monthly subscription to restaurants.
4. Pick Up Fixe (ordering): One-on-one support to get POS system installed and operating, and to build restaurant’s own website. No fees or contracts to restaurants during SIP or ever. Pays restaurant next day.
5. Postmates (ordering and delivery): No signup costs. Waiving commission fees for small businesses. Oakland restaurants are eligible for same day payments.
6. Uber Eats (ordering and delivery): No commission fee for customer pickups; lower commission fee if restaurant handles deliveries. No signup fees during SIP. Payments are sent same day.

Another delivery option is to redeploy your own employees as delivery people. Revel Mopeds: Engage with Revel to use free mopeds for locally owned restaurant delivery. During the shelter-in-place order, there is no cost for restaurants’ use of shared mopeds. For more information, please contact danny.marquez@gorevel.com.

To specifically support businesses with curbside or storefront pickup, and/or delivery, the City is taking the following steps:

Expediting White Curb Requests
In order to facilitate customer pick-up and delivery from Oakland businesses during the COVID-19 period, business owners can request a temporary white curb in front of their business. To request a temporary white curb, please contact Oak311 by dialing 311 or online at https://www.oaklandca.gov/serv...

Streamlining Sidewalk and Roadway Permitting
In anticipation of further updates to Alameda County’s Shelter in Place Order, City departments are working to revise the permitting process for sidewalk and roadway encroachments to make it easier for retailers and restaurants to use larger portions of the sidewalk and roadway to support their businesses. The City is working to streamline permits for parklets, café seating and other uses to help businesses better meet physical distancing requirements, and anticipates issuing updated guidelines by the end of May. City departments want to hear from local businesses about how it can streamline permitting for creative ways to use larger portions of the sidewalk, adjacent parking spaces, and the broader street space to support businesses.

Learn about the Flex Streets Initiative.

For those restaurants with an existing alcohol license, the State’s Alcoholic Beverage Control eased alcohol delivery restrictions for restaurants, but only with food orders, all of which must be sold from the same establishment.

ABC also lifted its ban on alcohol sold at drive-through windows, and noted that no deliveries are allowed from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m.

As of August 5, Yelp has added new features to help businesses communicate their vaccination protocols with the public. Users will be able to filter businesses by two new attributes - "proof of vaccination required" and "all staff fully vaccinated" - when searching for local businesses and restaurants.

Now, more than ever, having an online presence for your business is essential.

Need help building or bolstering your online and social media presence? The following local resources are available.

• Oakland Indie Alliance has a pool of skilled volunteers to assist
• LocalMotiv and IamLocal are other online resources for marketing Oakland’s independent businesses

Create and maintain your Yelp listing.

Get your business on lists of “open” businesses. Here are a few to consider:

• Oakland Chamber’s #StayInOrderOut list. Email asmallwood@oaklandchamber.com to get listed.
• Berkeleyside/Nosh
• San Francisco Chronicle
• Eater

List your business on gift card marketplaces

• Save Our Faves
• OpenTable’s gift card marketplace

Oakland's Open
To include Oakland in the message on June 15 that the California economy is reopening, the Visit Oakland team has created a toolkit with social media assets, as well as update several website pages and resources.

This toolkit is free for Oakland businesses to use. Assets include:

1. Social Media hashtag and graphics
2. Link to "Oakland's Open" video
3. Link to "Oakland's Open" landing page on VisitOakland.com
4. Links to reopening information resources including COVID Safety and Oakland Travel Pledge.

Click here to access the toolkit. For any support please contact the Visit Oakland Marketing team: marketing@visitoakland.com

California COVID-19 Employer Playbook: when and how an employer must report a COVID-19 positive employee; what is defined as an outbreak; and guidance for employers who may be considering whether to suspend operations due to COVID-19 spread in the workplace.

Criteria for Release from Home Isolation and/or Quarantine and Return to Work

When do I Self-Release from Isolation for COVID-19?

California-made Personal Protective Equipment Marketplace Source: California Manufacturers & Technology Association

Screening Guidance for Employers, Businesses, and Organizations - Source: Alameda County Public Health:
English | Arabic | Farsi | Khmer | Korean | Spanish | Tagalog | Vietnamese | Chinese (Simplified) | Chinese (Traditional)

Alameda County Worker Resources - Source: Alameda County Public Health:
English | Spanish | Chinese (simplified) | Chinese (traditional) | Tagalog | Vietnamese

OSHA COVID-19 Guidelines – Source: U.S. Department of Labor

OSHA Standards – Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Cal/OSHA Guidance on Requirements to Protect Workers from Coronavirus - Source: California Department of Industrial Relations

Workplace Outbreak Guidance for Employers - Source: California Department of Public Health

Oakland recently updated its Paid Sick Leave law to protect workers from COVID-19. Employers should read the new guidelines and post the regulations in a public place.

Juno Thomas, Business Development Coordinator
Economic & Workforce Development Department, City of Oakland
jthomas@oaklandca.gov