Datz Restaurant Group has resumed dine-in service at all locations of its fun-loving restaurants in Tampa and St. Petersburg and has invested in a full-time expert dedicated to overseeing safety practices for both customers and employees. Aiming for guests to both be safe and “see safe” as they begin “dining at a distance,” Datz co-owners Suzanne and Roger Perry called upon longtime consultant Danielle Egger of Florida Food Safety Systems, with whom they’ve collaborated to develop and maintain Datz’s already exceptionally high standards of cleanliness.

In preparation for reopening, Egger, who has more than 17 years of food safety regulation and restaurant sanitation experience in Ohio and Florida, trained hundreds of Datz employees on its stepped-up health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Datz’s historically stringent guidelines will continue, along with some new practices, as locations return to normal business operations, including

Datz locations, including Datz and Dough in Tampa and Datz and Dr. BBQ in St. Petersburg, are open at 25 percent capacity, allowing parties of up to 10 seated six feet apart, until further notice and according to state mandates.

All employees are required to wear masks and gloves at all times. They will also be asked to complete a pre-shift assessment to determine if they are experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19, and all employees who feel sick are asked to stay at home.

Datz is stationing employees at restaurant entrances to open doors for guests to help limit contact with otherwise commonly touched surfaces.

Each open table in the restaurant functions as a self-contained “sanitation station,” with servers sanitizing tabletops in front of guests prior to seating, providing individually wrapped antibacterial hand wipes to diners before serving food, and offering sealed packages of single-use, disposable utensils (reusable silverware rolled in laundered linen napkins are still be available upon request).

Datz will also offer single-use menus and stylus pens sanitized in front of the guest prior to each use at Datz’s low-contact, point-of-sale tablet payment system.

Parties waiting to be seated are required to practice adequate social distancing outside the restaurant and will not be allowed to congregate in large groups.

After nearly two months of serving the community exclusively through its creative takeout and delivery offerings, which have included a Quarantine Liquor Store, DIY meal and cocktail kits and PPE-inspired cookies, Datz Co-owner Suzanne Perry is excited to welcome guests back to this new normal: “We have missed the amazing energy that our guests and team members bring into our restaurants every day. We are so grateful for the support we have felt from our community through this entire experience. We promise, even though things might look a little different for the time being, to continue to deliver the same warmth and unique brand of hospitality you’ve come to know and love for years. We can’t wait to see everyone’s masked faces!”

Datz team members won’t be the only folks wearing masks. In keeping with Datz’s mischievous, tongue-in-cheek style, diners will find familiar—but masked—faces like Britney Spears, Queen Elizabeth and The Rock greeting them throughout the restaurant.

A MOM-UMENTAL CELEBRATION

Reopening just in time to celebrate Mother’s Day, Datz has myriad ways to celebrate mom this weekend:

Weekend brunch will offer special dishes to shower mom in extravagance like a Salted Caramel Donut Waffle. This over-the-top breakfast treat features glazed doughnut pieces mixed into Datz’s traditional batter and is topped with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and hot bacon-caramel on the side for drizzling. Mom can also sip on brunch cocktails just for her like a MOMargartia made with Espolon Tequila, orange blossom water, lime, prickly pear, and Q ginger beer topped with an edible orchid.

Treat mom to breakfast in bed with Datz’s Waffles N’ Tweet Meal with boneless crispy chicken tenders and honeyed pecan butter served with Belgian waffles, house-made bourbon maple syrup, and candied pecans, or give her a night off from round-the-clock cooking with a “Feed the Whole Family” or “Quarantine Date Night” kits.

Raise a glass to the woman who raised you/your kids with DIY cocktail kits of Datz fan-favorites like the Prickly Pear Mimosa and Spa Blah Blah Blah.

Show her you’ve got nothing butt love with a $30 funfetti Toilet Paper Cake.