Brian Styron works on a drink at Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse on Friday in Mukilteo. Across Snohomish County, restaurants, bars and other businesses are back at full capacity, following the drop of COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Brian Styron works on a drink at Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse on Friday in Mukilteo. Across Snohomish County, restaurants, bars and other businesses are back at full capacity, following the drop of COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Snohomish County businesses welcome state’s reopening

“It means the world being back at 100%,” Diamond Knot manager Korey MacKenzie said.

EVERETT — It had been 470 days since Shawn O’Donnell’s in south Everett operated at full capacity, but that changed Wednesday.

Glasses clinked and staff buzzed throughout the jam-packed restaurant floor, where customers filled every table and most bar stools.

“There was a lot of really good energy and mojo in the restaurant,” manager Kristen Nannery said. “It was noisy and sounded like a lively Irish pub should.”

Across Snohomish County, restaurants, bars and other businesses are back at full capacity, following the drop of COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week.

In Mukilteo, the Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse reopened fully Wednesday at 11 a.m. and has seen a steady flow of customers ever since, operations manager Korey MacKenzie said.

“It means the world being back at 100%,” he said. “Revenue per square foot is an important metric in the restaurant business, so having unused square footage makes it very challenging.”

MacKenzie is expecting a busy Fourth of July weekend at the restaurant and bar, he said, where pre-pandemic regulars are returning and new customers are eager to get out of the house.

“I think a great restaurant is sort of like a community hub where people can break bread and socialize,” he said. “People are excited to sit next to someone they’ve never met before at the bar top and share a story.”

With the switch flipped to full capacity, some restaurants are asking people to be patient as finding new staff remains an issue.

That’s not the case at Diamond Knot, MacKenzie said.

“We saw this challenge and got really creative, spending a lot of time finding applicants,” he said. “We’re finding people and we’re feeling a really positive vibe.”

People sit are the bar top at Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse on Friday in Mukilteo. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

People sit are the bar top at Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse on Friday in Mukilteo. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

But some businesses are opting to ease back into pre-COVID capacity.

Early on in the pandemic, Langley on Whidbey Island issued a proclamation to mask up, even while outdoors.

The artsy seaside village is a popular day trip for tourists from mainland areas with higher infection rates than the island. Today, some businesses still require face coverings be worn.

At the Ott & Hunter wine tasting room on First Street, the plan is to remain at reduced capacity in the venue with panoramic views of Saratoga Passage and beyond.

“We like taking things slow,” server Tami Smith said. “We have less tables. We like the setup we have. We get to interact with people. People come here to taste the wine. We can talk to them about the wine. They like it. We like that.”

Live music starts up on Saturdays next week. And wine sales during the last year helped make up for the loss of patronage.

“We are fortunate that we had a nice strong wine club,” Smith said.

It’s not just restaurants and bars feeling the relief of Wednesday’s reopening.

Pandemic-related restrictions pretty much erased the 2020 wedding season as couples postponed nuptials or at least the parties. That put vendors out of work and left venues unused.

Even applications for marriage licenses plummeted in Snohomish County.

But now they’re on the rebound. There were a total of 1,067 applications filed between April 1 and June 30, up from 760 in the same period in 2020.

And more applications means more weddings.

“Everybody is excited about being back. But there is some caution,” said PJ Parsons of Snohomish, owner of PJ Parsons Presents, a combination DJ, emcee and day-of-wedding coordinator operation.

“We’ve got a little bit of trauma response because this was so scary and out of our control,” she said of the industry. “We are watching the news. We know it is not over. But right now we are going to get people working again.”

Some vendors face a lack of bartenders and catering staff.

It’s not because the pay is too low, Parsons said. Rather, folks who had those jobs had to pivot to other means of employment in the pandemic so “there are just not bodies available right now.”

The state’s reopening also means fewer safety rules for religious services.

But that didn’t matter at The Pursuit NW church in Snohomish because its leaders ignored them. A letter from the state Department of Health in the Spring didn’t change their minds.

“We’ve identified as reopening for the last year-and-a-half,” said Russell Johnson, the lead pastor. “We don’t serve the state. Jay Inslee’s opinion on how the church conducts its business means absolutely nothing to me.”

At Temple Beth Or in Everett, congregants have spent the past 16 months worshiping and celebrating over Zoom. Now, they are moving earnestly and patiently to resume services in-person as early as mid-July.

“The last thing any of us would want to do is jeopardize the health and safety of anyone in our community,” said Rabbi Rachel Kort noting that a rule in the Jewish tradition says “the greatest obligation we have is to protect human life.”

Online services will continue to be available as well.

“As we look out to the High Holy Days, we are really making sure we have multiple means of access for our community,” she said.

Herald writer Andrea Brown contributed to this report.

Jerry Cornfield: jcornfield@heraldnet.com; @dospueblos

Joey Thompson: 425-339-3449; jthompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @byjoeythompson.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.