'Like a bumper boat': Ocean City, Maryland, restaurant unveils social distancing tables

A table for one?

It's the creative concept that an Ocean City, Maryland, restaurant unveiled over the weekend to keep patrons at least 6 feet apart once the governor gave the OK for restaurants and bars to reopen.

Shaped like oversized inner tubes, the tables were custom made for Fish Tales, where employees rolled them out of a large box truck for their Facebook live debut over the weekend, reports the Salisbury Daily Times, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

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"It's like a bumper boat, but it's actually a table," owner Shawn Harmon said of the design, which was developed by Revolution Event Design and Production in Baltimore.

A customer will stand in the center of the circular table surrounded by a rubber barrier that keeps them safely separated from other patrons in accordance with social distancing guidelines. The tables sit on wheels that allow them to stay mobile.

Fish Tales in Ocean City, Md., debuted bumper-style tables developed by Revolution Event Design and Production to keep customers 6 feet apart.
Fish Tales in Ocean City, Md., debuted bumper-style tables developed by Revolution Event Design and Production to keep customers 6 feet apart.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had restaurants and bars across Maryland shuttered – with the exception of carryout and delivery service – since mid-March in an effort to curb the virus's spread.

Now that the state has eased into stage one of its gradual Roadmap to Recovery, eateries are itching to one day soon hopefully resume dine-in service.

Fish Tales is providing curbside and carryout service seven days a week and has also put significant distance between its outdoor tables in anticipation of being able to wait on patrons again.

"We've taken this very seriously from the beginning, and we just want to let everyone know what we've done in the interim to make sure that everybody stays safe and Ocean City can stay open," Harmon said in a social media video about the measures the establishment has taken.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Coronavirus: Maryland restaurant unveils social distancing tables