#Oceanarium restaurant reopening how to#

Friday, we’re told, was Annik’s first birthday. That was Mauyak with young Annik, still a darker gray. Dolphins and Beluga whales glided by just under the surface, one in a tight pair, a calf with its mother. On Friday, it seemed a bit like overkill with just a few families clustered up by the water’s edge.

#Oceanarium restaurant reopening how to#

Walking paths in the sunlit space were tightly controlled, with stanchions marking Enter Here and Exit Only, with every other row of seats blocked off and dolphin decals on the stone benches showing visitors how to social-distance. The Abbott Oceanarium, where the Shedd previously held its dolphin and aquatics shows, was still open but without the shows. The Shedd will operate at 25% capacity, with timed entries capped at 375 people an hour previous capacity was 12,000 visitors a day, or about 3,000 at any one time.Įarly Friday, that meant open hallways, a murmur of voices and a chance to see the sharks in the Wild Reef exhibit without looking through handprints on the glass. We wish you good luck.'Ĭontact reporter David Veselenak or 73.“If you’ve been here before, especially in July, you’re going to notice the difference,” said Shedd president and CEO Bridget Coughlin in an interview earlier this week. 'It's good to have the site being put back into use,' he said.

While there was plenty of discussion around the needed conditions required by the commission, Chairman John Heidt said he was happy to see activity returning to that part of downtown Milford in the coming months. The submitted plans shows a deficiency of parking on the site, according to an analysis by the village's planning consultant Giffels Webster. Several conditions on the recommended approval were placed by the planning commission, including having the petitioner submit a lighting plan for the site, limiting when deliveries could take place at the restaurant and working with the village council on paying into a parking fund for additional spaces. More: Milford will ask voters for millage to hire full-time firefighters. More: Milford's newest downtown business caters to all your skateboard, snowboard needs More: Children's resale shop Three Little Peas opens storefront in Milford 'The north side of the family (area) is going to be hopefully a higher end steak and wine bar.' The wine bar area could serve as a more 'adults only' atmosphere farther in the future. The main area of the restaurant is expected to be family-friendly, which could include some amusement activities in part of the restaurant with games such as bocce ball. The third phase will include work on the former wine bar, which Stewart said could return in a new format. The second phase includes the renovation work and addition of more interior space that was being reviewed by the planning commission. That work includes renovating the kitchen to get it up and running to offer some service as early as next month, Stewart said.

Stewart said they are doing work in three phases on the property, with the first phase already underway. 'I think it's something that will be a novelty,' she said.

Commissioner Karen Worrell said the shark tank will make the space a destination.