N.J. Indoor Dining’s Return Gets Closer With Gyms Set to Reopen

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that indoor dining could resume in September if the coronavirus doesn’t worsen, marking what would be a major step toward normalcy in a state that was among the earliest and hardest hit by the pandemic.

Murphy, a first-term Democrat, said New Jersey’s 1,200 gyms can reopen on Sept. 1 at 25% capacity with spaced workout equipment and other precautions. His order also will apply to amusement centers, clearing the way for indoor skiing and other activities at American Dream, the East Rutherford mega-mall whose retail grand opening was canceled in March when the pandemic began shutting down the U.S.

Gyms, indoor dining and theaters are among the last nonessential New Jersey businesses, closed since March 21, that have yet to reopen. In all, 18% of the state’s restaurants may not reopen because of the toll of the months-long closure, the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association told a state Senate committee in June.

“If the data stays as good as it is,” restaurants may be back by mid-September, Murphy said at a Trenton news conference. Theaters probably would return at the same time, he said.

The gym reopenings will leave North Carolina as the only U.S. state that continues to block gym access, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

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