On March 2, Governor Newsom announced that San Francisco, Napa, and Santa Clara counties were entering the red tier otherwise known as the “substantial” tier in California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” reopening plan, which allows for indoor dining, movie theaters, and gyms to open at limited capacity. On March 3, I got the opinion of Alameda County business owners and citizens on the news.

Abby Cardenas is a manager at Mama Lupe’s Restaurant in San Leandro. “I’m just hoping that Alameda County is not far behind and we can all get back to work and operate our businesses. As a small business owner, we have to have dine-in to succeed.”

Chris Wong is the manager and owner of Licensed 2 Grill in San Leandro. “I think it’s a positive thing because people are going to be happy to be out, so we’re just waiting for our turn.”

Ann Huynh is manager of Vietnam Kitchen in San Leandro.
“It’s not fair because we’re next to each other [Alameda County and neighboring counties opening up] if one of our counties opens, we should all open.”

Lizette Toledo is a San Leandro resident and student at the University of California, Berkeley. “I think it’s exciting to be able to go out with friends to [dine indoors] again. It’s definitely something I haven’t done in a while, and I can’t wait for Alameda to open up as well.”