- At a
restaurant in Bangkok,Thailand , customers practicesocial distancing and dine with stuffed pandas. - Maison Saigon had originally placed one chair at each table, but the owner told $4 it felt empty, so he placed stuffed panda bears around the restaurant.
- Other restaurants have also found creative ways to encourage social distancing. Cardboard cutouts fill one restaurant in Australia, and customers are required to wear pool noodle hats at a café in Germany.
- $4.
In Thailand, friends and family members might not join you for dinner, but stuffed panda bears will.
When $4 initially reopened, it had encouraged social distancing by placing one chair at each table. But the owner said it felt isolating and empty, so he decided to give his customers some company in the form of stuffed animals.
Now, pandas fill the seats at the Vietnamese restaurant in Bangkok
"Earlier we had only one chair for the tables where the customer came alone. But for me, it felt strange, so I thought I'd give them some company," Natthwut Rodchanapanthkul, the owner of Maison Saigon, told $4.
One diner said he enjoyed the unique company as he dined out for the first time in months. "The doll makes me feel less lonely eating by myself," Sawit Chaiphuek told $4.
According to $4, Thailand relaxed some of its lockdown restrictions starting May 3, which included restaurants and cafés. However, they are still required to follow strict social-distancing guidelines.
Maison Saigon isn't the only restaurant taking a creative approach to social distancing
In Australia, a restaurant owner $4 in hopes of making his customers feel like they're having a typical dining experience.
The restaurant owner also plans to play guest "chatter" on the speakers to help his guests feel more comfortable when dining.
At a restaurant in Washington, Virginia, $4 to fill the empty dining room. Meanwhile, a café in Germany jokingly had customers $4 to follow social-distancing guidelines.
Read the original article on $4