A masked server delivers lunch to a table at the Nuevo Vallarta Mexican Restaurant in Manchester, N.H., Monday, May 18, 2020. The restaurant, which closed their inside dining area in March due to business restrictions created by the COVID-19 virus o… — A masked server delivers lunch to a table at the Nuevo Vallarta Mexican Restaurant in Manchester, N.H., Monday, May 18, 2020. The restaurant, which closed their inside dining area in March due to business restrictions created by the COVID-19 virus outbreak, reopened Monday as New Hampshire restaurants were allowed to serve their customers with outdoor table service. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

For a moment, everything seemed back to normal. The Common Man upper deck brimmed with lunchtime customers sitting in the sun. Diners worked through drinks and sank into lobster rolls. They caught up on little things and big changes, from weekend plans to new pregnancies.

And then Charles the waiter returned in black gloves and an American flag mask, and reality barged back in.

Across New Hampshire Monday, restaurants launched into a new phase of pandemic reality: outdoor dining. Following weeks of shuttered indoor seating and attempts at takeout and delivery, restaurants were allowed to experiment putting diners in tables outdoors after Gov. Chris Sununu relaxed his previous shutdown order in response to COVID-19. Some did; others waited on the sidelines.

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