Restaurants that were buzzing with activity before the COVID-19 pandemic but went dead during coronavirus quarantine are now facing a new challenge: reopening with social distancing measures. Spacing tables 6 feet apart (or leaving adjacent booths unoccupied) will be the new norm for many venues, making dining rooms feeling oddly empty.
One South Carolina restaurant, however, is filling in the gaps in an unusual way: with blow-up dolls. Open Hearth has amassed a collection of 10 inflatable people; donned them in wigs, accessories, and hand-me-down finery; and strategically spaced them throughout the restaurant.
Lest any diners get the wrong idea about what the dolls are there for, owner Paula Starr Melehes says they’re the “G-rated kind” from Amazon. (Meaning, um, no holes.) “My grandson told me they look kind of creepy,” Melehes said to local TV news station WYFF. “But, I think, when people walk in, they’re going to laugh.”
Diners have already gotten a kick out of the faux patrons, taking photos with them to post on social media. Let’s just hope no perv gets too handsy.
Cover Photo: WYFF
Mandatory Good News: 10 Stories of Local Restaurants Feeding People for Free
MORE CORONAVIRUS NEWS:
Mandatory Good News: Bar Owner Donates All the Dollar Bills Stapled to Her Walls to Furloughed Employees
Help Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus
Visit the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov or the World Health Organization at Who.int for the latest information on the coronavirus and learn what you can do to stop the spread.
Follow Mandatory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Coronavirus Stories March 2020
-
Everything Coronavirus Has Ruined So Far
-
The Mandatory Guide to Dating in the Age of Coronavirus
-
This Coronavirus-Fighting Device Guarantees You’ll Wash Your Hands Long Enough, If You Finally Decide to Wash Them at All
-
Hilariously Inventive DIY Face Masks That May (Or May Not) Keep Coronavirus Away
-
Coronavirus Porn Is the Latest Guilty Pleasure, Quaran-Teens in Your Area (Legal Ones, Of Course)
-
Shame Cone is the Latest Coronavirus Prevention Product (For You, Not the Dog)
-
Toilet Paper Alternatives to Cover Your Ass During the Coronavirus Panic
-
Young American Forced to Find a Hobby Without Work, Sports and Travel Weighing Him Down, Thanks to Coronavirus
-
Mandatory Staff Picks: Comfort Movies to Keep You Calm During Your Coronavirus Quarantine
-
Hand Sanitizer Prices Skyrocket Amid Coronavirus, Our Cheap DIY Suggestions to Avoid Getting Scammed
-
Coronavirus Movie Marathon: The Best Sick Day Films When You Have a Lengthy Quarantine Ahead
-
Tito’s Vodka Urges Drinkers Not to Use Its Booze as Hand Sanitizer (But You Should Definitely Stockpile It for Your Quarantine)