"We understand that these actions are painful to our business community, but we also know these actions work to help prevent the spread of this virus," College Station Mayor Karl Mooney said. "Along with our partners in the community, we will be exploring all options for helping these businesses weather this unprecedented event."

These restrictions were agreed upon Wednesday by leadership in both cities after consulting with the Brazos Valley Health District and the Bryan-College Station Independent Restaurant Group.

“The cities of Bryan and College Station are working together to do everything we can to keep our most vulnerable populations protected," Bryan Mayor Andrew Nelson said. "Until health officials say it is safe to do so, we will not consider lifting these restrictions. Until then, we encourage everyone to support the small businesses in our community as we work to create opportunities to assist the businesses through this difficult situation.”

Experience Bryan-College Station is actively creating a list of locally-owned restaurants offering take-out and delivery options on its website.

"As ambassadors of the culinary culture of Bryan-College Station, it’s our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for all residents. That includes our patrons and our staff. We understand that closing down the dining rooms is a prudent move to ensure that we can provide the safest kitchens to bring you food during this time,” said Kristy Petty, representative of the BCS Independent Restaurant Group. “All members of our group are committing to follow the government regulations handed down, we will make sure our employees are asymptomatic when they come to work and will continue superior sanitization practices. We believe we will all get through this together."