Skagway restaurants have been closed to dine-in service since the state mandated it in March⁠—and they’ve all stayed closed despite relaxed restrictions. But this Friday, one local cafe will invite patrons inside.

Downtown Skagway (Mike Colvin)

The Sweet Tooth Cafe will be the first restaurant in Skagway to navigate the uncharted waters of dine-in service during a pandemic.  Owner Tobias Parsons said that he’s already got reservations on the books.

“We’re just going to do a limited, you know, give it a shot and try this for now and see how it works,” he said.

Limited is right⁠—Governor Mike Dunleavy okayed dine-in service at only 50 percent of restaurant capacity. For Parsons, it’s a chance to do a little business and invite an employee or two back to work to wait tables.

Opening does feel like a risk, he said. No cruise ships yet coupled with local hunkering down means business is slow. He estimates he’s usually got 10-15 times the customers by this time of year. That, and he wasn’t sure how the community would respond.

“I was worried about it. I thought maybe it could be, you know, political suicide. But everybody’s been positive about it,” said Parsons.

Sweet Tooth has been serving breakfast and lunch in Skagway since 1973. Locals know they can count on fresh pastries in the case and a hot meal. A group or two of seniors is usually sipping coffee at the tables all morning⁠—Parsons calls them his coffee crews. But they won’t be able to kick back and socialize like before the pandemic.

Sweet Tooth has strict cleaning and seating guidelines in place now, per state mandate. They’ve taken out half their tables and spaced the rest ten feet apart. Diners must be from the same household to share a table. Everyone has to leave their phone number, just in case anyone gets sick. Parsons said he’ll close up shop if there are COVID-19 cases in Skagway.

“We’re trying to go above and beyond the guidelines to keep our customers, you know, somewhat safe,” he said.

The state hasn’t released any enforcement guidelines to municipalities for when businesses choose to open. Borough manager Brad Ryan said that if the municipality hears about unsafe practices, the first step would be a conversation with the owner. He said every time he’s been asked to regulate community gatherings before, everyone seems to understand.

Parson’s doesn’t anticipate a problem.

“I’m not too nervous now. I think I think we have this. I think we’ve done a really good job so far preparing and we didn’t jump right on it right away. We kind of rolled over. And I think I think we got this!” he said.

He’s read the state’s guidelines many times. He’s got a log book to make sure that all surfaces are sanitized hourly, and he said he’ll be manning the front door⁠—partly to keep an eye on things and also because he’s ready to see his regulars again.