Chester County restaurant installs new air circulation system to ease COVID-19 concerns

MENDENHALL, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Right now, restaurants in Chester County are operating at 50% indoor capacity, and many are continuing to make changes to keep the environment as safe as possible.

One Mendenhall eatery is overhauling its whole ventilation system.

The owner of Tavern 52 just installed a new air purification system on Wednesday. They hope it will somehow be the ticket to getting back to normal.

"We want people to feel comfortable," says Charlie Sharp, the owner of Tavern 52. "We want to have a healthier dine-in air experience and we can only do that with these units turning the air over."

Sharp purchased the Air Purification System from Armstrong in Lancaster.

They installed the seven ceiling units, which emit sanitizing UV lights and circulate airflow.

"The air is brought in and goes through a UVC chamber, which is high UV light," Sharp said. "Then it's pushed back into the room. So, each one of these units turns the air over in 500 square feet four times an hour. That's more than my ventilation system."

He's hoping this helps him increase capacity when the state allows it.

Before COVID-19 restrictions, Tavern 52 could seat 192 people. Now, he's down to 80 seats without the bar, which is still restricted.

As far as the investment goes, Sharp breaks it down by appetizers. If each customer orders one extra appetizer a day, this new system pays for itself.