GORHAM, Maine — Restaurants in York, Cumberland, and Androscoggin counties are itching to open their indoor dining rooms. Right now those in the three counties where the most COVID-19 cases are, restaurants are only allowed to use outdoor seating, which started today.
Gov. Mills does not yet have a date for when they might be able to reopen to dine-in seating, but a Maine company has come up with a product that may help them do that sooner rather than later.
Transformit in Gorham says it's "social screens" could ease concerns about social distancing in more confined spaces, and transform the looks of restaurants, hotels, and businesses into the future.
Sculptor Cindy Thompson has been transforming public spaces for more than 30 years. She started the company in 1987.
She has designed, constructed, and installed fabric artwork in museums, hotels, and vast public spaces.
Her company also does a lot of trade shows and events, but since those aren't happening anymore, it's had to pivot.
The idea to use a product they already make for social distancing was actually her husband's. They've renamed them "social screens," which are dividers that can be used in restaurants, hotels, offices, and other spaces.
The screens can be designed to fit with any floor plans, indoors or out. They are easily portable, but can also be attached to floors. Thompson says, "We can use different kinds of fabric. We can put a coating on that is antibacterial. And then we can print on the fabric different kinds of fabric where you can see through it."
The screens effectively divide people at different tables or desks, without making them feel isolated or claustrophobic.
Thompson says, "It's a nice way to block the social stuff off its social-friendly not social unfriendly.”
Thompson has heard from restaurant and hotel owners, who say they want these social screens but they just can't say when.
She says many of them have been so busy implementing the required protocols to reopen, they haven't had time to consider anything else.
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