Bars excluded from Phase 2 reopening. When can they open?

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Halcyon, a bar off Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, was getting ready to re-open Friday at 5 pm. They were moving furniture so they could socially distance and bought more liquor and sanitizing products.

But when Governor Roy Cooper announced bars weren't included in Phase 2, they had to put those plans on hold.

"We were very disappointed, very upset with this decision," Styers said. "We feel like we still have bills coming in. We still have employees that are still going to be unemployed. Basically, it caught us off guard."

Nick Hawthorne-Johnson, part-owner of Ponysaurus Brewing Company in Durham said they want to open but they want to make sure it's safe.

"I think everybody's having a hard time," Hawthorne-Johnson said. "I think everybody wants to be open and everybody wants it to be safe to be open."

Hawthorne-Johnson said they're still finishing projects such as installing a glass barrier around the bar and adding sanitizing stations.

"We aren't ready by our own standards," Hawthorne-Johnson said. "Whether or not they said it was OK or not, we wouldn't be opening on Friday, just because we're not quite ready."

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It's likely bars won't be able to open back up until Phase 3, which is five weeks away.

During a Thursday afternoon presser, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said we will continue to assess how we do during Phase 2.

For now, Halycon will remain empty.

"It's sad, Styers said. "It's really sad knowing that we don't know when we're going to be able to open the doors."