Pueblo lists restaurants going above and beyond to stay COVID safe

PUEBLO — The City of Pueblo is giving recognition to restaurants it says are going above and beyond to stay clean, and help keep everyone safe right now.

The city named 61 restaurants to its 'Business Safety All Stars List,' which highlights restaurants that have faced zero COVID-19 violations.

If you take one step inside Nacho's Mexican Restaurant, you'll know things are different

Manager Renee Cortez is prepared with questions, asking customers for their names and phone numbers in the event contact tracers need to reach them. She also offers them hand sanitizer and instructs them on when they're allowed to remove their masks before seating them at least 6 feet away from any other customers.

There is a point to all this.

"So our customers can come in and feel safe. So my staff is safe," Cortez said.

And it's paid off. The measures have earned her restaurant a spot on the list since August.

"We just keep doing what we have to do to keep our staff safe and our customers safe," she said.

Across downtown at Papa Jose's, they also made the original list back in August.

"We're still getting by, we have very good customers," Owner Michael Pacheco said. "We've always worked pretty hard to keep the place pretty clean."

They've made sure no customers have to be turned away if they forgot to wear a mask.

"When the COVID thing first came out, nobody had masks, so my wife and my sister started making them," he said.

Back over at Nacho's they're keeping track of everyone.

"For our staff, we take their temperatures as they come in," Cortez said. "Any vendors, we take their temperature and their name."

Sure, it's a lot of work. But it's worth it.

"I think we have a safe environment for people to come in and enjoy time with family and I think that's important... that you can still go out to dinner and yet feel safe," she said.

The list is updated each month as health inspectors continue to follow up with businesses. Nacho's has made the list every month since August. Papa Jose's did not make October's list, which you can read below.

City of Pueblo October 2020 COVID-19 Safety All-Stars