I spent the day at Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC without a mask – here’s what it was like

• If you're fully vaccinated in New York City, you may now be able to go maskless at certain places.
• Writer Michelle Gross recently went to luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue without wearing a mask.
• Gross says the store's restaurant was operating at limited capacity and many shoppers were still masked.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

For the first time since the pandemic began, I did something that wouldn't have seemed possible this time last year: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue, sat down for lunch indoors, and took off my mask.

There's no doubt that we've reached a turning point when it comes to where and when you should wear a mask. And guidance on the subject is frankly, confusing.

As of May 25, New York continues to follow federal guidance recommending that masks be worn by both vaccinated and unvaccinated in many settings including public transit, schools, and nursing homes. But mask policies in stores, restaurants, and bars remain in a sort of gray area that is loosely enforced depending on the establishment.

Saks Fifth Avenue and their signature restaurant L'Avenue at Saks reopened for both indoor and outdoor dining at a regular capacity this month.

Now that I'm fully vaccinated, I wanted to seize the moment before heading out of state for the rest of the summer.

My partner and I arrived at the restaurant's private street entrance on East 50th Street around 1 p.m. last Sunday and made our way up to the ninth floor for my lunch reservation at L'Avenue.

The luxury retailer's flagship French restaurant has resumed their brunch and lunch at a regular dining capacity, but with social distancing guidelines still in effect.

The employee who checked us in said the temperature check was no longer required, but that masks must be worn when entering or moving about inside. Although we were fully vaccinated, they didn't ask us to show proof or our vaccine cards.

When we arrived at our table we noticed hand sanitizer and individual Saks branded mask bags to place our masks in. The restaurant is operating at 75% capacity and is offering a modified brunch and lunch menu.

The restaurant layout was completely reconfigured during the pandemic, L'Avenue's sommelier, Stephanie, told us.

Stephanie, who moved to New York City from San Francisco just before the restaurant closed down last March, said that tables will remain spread at least six feet apart and with plexi-glass screens in-between for the time being. While I haven't had much indoor dining experience in the city over the last year or so since the pandemic began, I did marvel at how this reconfiguration offers a much more comfortable dining experience.

The Philippe Starck-designed restaurant has some delicious on- and off-menu items including the 'Saks in the City' which is one of L'Avenue's secret Mezcal-based cocktails that, much like its namesake city (and show), promises to pack a spicy punch.

After enjoying chicken spring rolls, lobster pasta, and L'Avenue's famous cheesecake for dessert, we headed downstairs to do a little post-lunch shopping.

Before leaving the restaurant, I put my mask on and used the restroom in the back of the restaurant to wash my hands.

There was a gloved bathroom attendant on hand folding individual towels for guests' use.

As we were exiting the restaurant, a small group being led in was gently reminded to put their masks back on when walking through the restaurant to their table.

For anyone not yet comfortable dining indoors, there's also a beautiful outdoor terrace that offers sweeping views of the New York City skyline.

The terrace extends off the après-ski style restaurant, Le Chalet, one floor down from L'Avenue.

Saks recently announced they would require their 500 employees to be vaccinated before returning to work at their midtown and Brookfield Place locations next fall. The legalities behind a required company-wide vaccination remain to be seen, but speaking with Saks employees on Sunday, many seem supportive of the company's decision.

As we made our way from floor to floor, I noticed some sparsely placed mask-messaging on the walls and social-distancing signs by the escalator banks urging customers to maintain a six-foot distance.

The luxury store, which underwent a $250-million renovation that was completed in 2019, now features a modern main floor with one of the largest luxury handbag collections in the world.

For a beautiful Sunday afternoon in late May, the store felt relatively quiet.

I was surprised to see that most shoppers, with the exception of a select few, were still wearing masks.

Although at one of the largest department stores in the city, taking my mask off didn't feel particularly ceremonious and the experience was short-lived. After a few minutes of perusing and noticing a vast majority of shoppers and nearly every employee wearing their masks (and some with gloves), I promptly followed suit and slipped back into my much more socially comfortable mask.

Unlike at the entrance of L'Avenue, there didn't appear to be anyone in the hallways or at the store's entrance enforcing a mask policy or checking for proof of vaccination.

Despite the few signs we saw scattered around Saks and the policy around masks, whether or not to wear one here felt unclear.

Like so many New Yorkers, for me, to say it's a relief to see the city come back to life would be an understatement.

Doing something as simple as having lunch and walking around a department store, maskless or not, didn't seem possible a year ago. And while it was something I definitely took for granted in the past, I'm planning on leaving my mask on when shopping indoors, at least for the foreseeable future.