Some Mattoon restaurants and businesses have adjusted their approach following the city's reissued "Do Not Drink" order.

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) - When the first "Do Not Drink" order was announced on July 10, most business owners did not know how to respond. 

At Taco Amigos, staff went table to table, telling people they could not drink their water, pop, or alcoholic drinks with ice. The team quickly brainstormed what they could do to reopen the next day. 

"We spoke with the health department and they said if we could get an outsourced water supply, we could stay open," said Mikki Rebollo, one of the owners of Taco Amigos. "So we rushed to the stores and my son and I filled up our cars with as much water and soda that we could get to provide for our customers." 

Since the "Do Not Drink" order was released, the restaurant has purchased more than 200 gallons of outside water a day to cook, wash hands, clean dishes and sanitize equipment. They have also purchased paper plates, plastic silverware and other single-use supplies to ensure no one has to use dishes touched by tainted water. 

The staff say the closest thing they have experienced to this is when COVID-19 restrictions were first implemented. 

"That's the closest thing I can think of because we were open as soon as we were allowed to," said Carson Rebollo, a co-owner of Taco Amigos. "We knew that we couldn't stay closed because there's just no way we could keep the bills being paid at the restaurant." 

Across town at Morgan's Meat Market, owner Mike Love has been experiencing similar issues. He has to keep his doors open to pay his staff and bills, but he also needs to keep the community safe. 

Love has also received the all clear to keep selling his products, but the issue he's been facing is keeping his facility and tools clean. He is trying to figure out how to bring in large amounts of safe water to clean his supplies. 

"It's a little different than at home, where you make a pan of macaroni and cheese and you have a small pan to wash," said Love. "Here we're talking about grinders and mixers and saws and tenderizers and packaging machines and extremely large pieces of equipment." 

Love has been able to get enough water for staff to wash their hands and basic, smaller materials, but the bigger items are the issue. He has also closed the deli area of the Meat Market, as it requires frequent hand-washing and sanitization.

Both businesses have said they are relying on the community's support to keep their doors open, and they are concerned for other businesses that haven't been able to reopen. 

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