Is It Still Social Distancing If You're Dining Next To A Ghost?

Restaurants in Michigan reopened at limited capacity last week, including Trattoria Da Luigi in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit. Proprietor Luigi Cutraro was prepared to remove tables and chairs so that parties would remain at a six-foot distance, but his wife thought that made the space look sad. She had a better idea: to fill in the extra tables with ghosts. And so Cutraro did. "We killed two birds with one stone," he told Detroit's Local 4. "We did the separation, and we did something fun."

These aren't invisible energy Ghost Hunters ghosts or scary ectoplasm Ghostbusters ghosts. Instead they're kids' Halloween costume ghosts. Some of them have little smiles. Some wear glasses. They're more cute than scary—unlike, say, the mannequins that have been popping up at other restaurants in the U.S. and Europe.

"It's been a hard three months," Cutraro said. "In the terrible time we've been going through, a nice little smile is nice." The two nearest ghosts, Salvatore and Angelina, agreed with him. "Of course," he said, "they agree with me on everything."

The menu has been updated to reflect the new clientele. Trattoria Da Luigi now serves Calamari Alla Ghostbusters, Spaghetti Alla Casper, and Braised Short Ribs Alla Beetlejuice.