At first he wanted to cancel it due to the surge in Covid cases, but 19 East owner Wowee Posadas said he decided to push through with his bar and restaurant’s reopening on July 18–after a four-month hiatus due to the Luzon lockdown–because dine-in operations have been allowed by government, provided that safety protocols are in place.

The date is special–while customers dine, there will be live performances by Paolo Santos, Pido, Thor, and Gail Blanco.

There will be two shows on the same night: 5:30-6:45 p.m. and 7:15-8:30 p.m. Both shows have been fully booked, said Posadas.

“We installed acrylic barriers on stage, between performers, for their safety as well as for the customers’,” said an announcement on the 19 East Facebook page.

“Seating will be limited to 50 persons, which is 30 percent of our dine-in capacity. Health protocols will be strictly implemented, like the no-mask, no-entry policy, use of thermal scanners to check the temperature of customers, availability of alcohol and foot bath with disinfectants at the entrance, availability of contactless order and cashless payment systems, spacing of tables 1.5 meters apart, regular disinfection of surfaces, and other safety measures.

“Restaurant staff will be required to wear face masks, face shields, gloves, hair caps, and closed shoes.”

19 East, Km. 19, East Service Road, Sucat, Muntinlupa; tel. 8-837-6903; Facebook @19east; website 19east.com