TC Hooligans Bar and Grill in Greece shut its doors in mid-March when the pandemic hit. It was takeout only — until Thursday.

"My staff is excited; the customers haven't stopped calling," says Owner Joe Ferrari. "We can't wait to put our workers back to work and see our customers today."

Under blue skies and bright sunshine, the restaurant reopened its outdoor patio before noon. People were waiting to get in.

After months of takeout to support local businesses, Mary and Dan Lerkins of Charlotte said it felt great to be able to go out and have a meal again.

"I feel a little more confident now because we've seen other states that have opened up and they seem to be functioning fairly well," Mary says. "I'm more comfortable outside than being in a crowded bar area."

Mary says that she feels safe with all the new guidelines that restaurants have to follow. Servers wear masks and walk around with hand sanitizer, some tables have been removed so they can spread out, you're only allowed inside to use the bathroom, there are strict cleaning regulations and, if the patio is full, you'll be asked to wait in your car until a table opens up.

When things started to shut down at Hooligans, most of the 60 employees who work there temporarily lost their jobs. Now, as things slowly start to reopen, all have said they are coming back.

"I couldn't sleep last night. It was like the first day of high school again," server Stephanie Ho laughed and said.

Like the other servers, Ho was excited to get back to work. The mother of two had gone on unemployment and was worried about paying the bills, but she says waitressing at the restaurant was about than just the tips she'll soon get back.  

"For me, besides my income, I feel like we're such a big part of the community. People go out to eat because it's their enjoyment, it's their stress reliever," she said.

No one knows exactly when things might change again. And masks could become part of the new normal at restaurants. Ferrari said they're ready to go, no matter what.

"It's going to be a bit of a learning curve and like I told my team, 'Let's not get stressed out. Everyone's learning at the same time as we are. We'll figure it out as we go along and we'll get through it.' "