St. Paul restaurant reinstates more COVID safety restrictions as cases rise

At J. Selby’s in St. Paul, the tables are empty and the chairs are upturned — again.

The restaurant halted in-person dining Tuesday as Minnesota cases continue to climb. It remains open for carryout.

"Realizing that my staff is really exposed to people who don’t dine with their masks on. They are exposed to hundreds of people daily, it’s really not safe," owner Matt Clayton said.

"I just can’t lose staff members. If we lost staff members then we are all shut down and out of work for two weeks," he added. "Really, we need to keep everybody safe and this is the way to do it."

Clayton says he checks the COVID-19 case numbers daily and hopes the dining room closure will be only temporary.