Washington D.C. restaurant The Inn at Little Washington plans to place mannequins in the empty seats between real diners in an attempt to make the restaurant feel more lively and fill the void created by social distancing measures.

The three Michelin starred restaurant, helmed by chef Patrick O’Connell is set to reopen for dinners from May 29th, and they’ve decided to “theatrically dress” the restaurant with and fill it with interestingly dressed dummies.

Chef Patrick O’Connell told Travel+Leisure that he felt placing the mannequins at empty tables would serve as “an entertainment and design touchpoint to keep things interesting.”

“When we needed to solve the problem of social distancing and reducing our restaurant’s occupancy by half, the solution seemed obvious—fill it with interestingly dressed dummies.  This would allow plenty of space between real guests and elicit a few smiles and provide some fun photo ops.”

The mannequins are set to be sourced from Design Foundry and Signature Theatre in D.C., who will also create costumes and makeup. The restaurant is known for its touch of irreverence and has collaborated with both companies previously.

The Inn at Little Washington was recently the subject of the PBS documentary “A Delicious Documentary.”

The restaurant’s concept definitely takes new steps down this strange path that we’re all calling “the new normal”, but they’re not the only ones doing so. One Amsterdam restaurant is building glass pods to help diners socially distance while dining and some cities are considering devoting entire streets to al fresco dining.