San Miguel County and two dozen other counties in Colorado moved to level orange on Monday, January 4. The color dial is a visual representation of the restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19, and level orange permits restaurants to open for indoor dining at 25% capacity. The dial is based on three metrics: the number of new cases, the percentage rate of positive cases, and the capacity of hospitals.
Restaurant owners in Telluride, Mountain Village, and Norwood have had to be nimble, opening at a limited capacity during the summer, switching to takeout-only dining, and constructing elaborate outdoor enclosures to accommodate customers safely as the weather turned colder.
Level orange also permits limited indoor events, which is good news for the Sheridan Opera House, which has been almost entirely shut down throughout the pandemic. The opera house is a beloved venue in Telluride and a beautifully restored historic building. Check out the schedule of events online.