Posted on September 21, 2020 at 3:52 pm by Carol Tannenhauser
Photo by Aileen Budow.
By Carol Tannenhauser
Big, plastic bubbles, with tables and chairs and happy diners inside them, line the sidewalk in front of Café du Soleil, on Broadway and 104th Street, like life-sized ornaments.
“The customers love them,” owner Nadine Chevreux told WSR. “They feel cozy. If it rains or it’s cold, there’s no problem. They’re not specifically for COVID, they’re just regular bubbles. My husband got them on a website. There are openings on both sides, so they’re not enclosed. This is gonna hold us until it’s really cold.”
The bubbles have been up for about a month and “so far, business has been good,” Chevreux said. “But we are at the mercy of what the City of New York decides for all the restaurants. In November it’s gonna get cold and we will try to last as long as we can. So far, we have a little solution that’s working out very well.
“People want their bubbles,” she exclaimed. “They actually ask for them, even if it’s not raining. Would you believe that? They say, ‘Can we have a bubble, please?’”