At Chez Josephine, manager Alfredo Villegas said all the tables at his restaurant were taken on Saturday.
“It’s been going well,” he said in a phone interview Sunday, adding that the restaurant now operates with 30 tables under the capacity rule. “People have been very happy about it.” The manager of Pipin’s Pub, a bar in Bay Bridge, Brooklyn, said indoor dining revenue even surpassed takeout and delivery this weekend. “A lot of the regulars have been back,” Brid Kerr-Gnoza said.Burger Village, which opened two-and-a-half months ago in Astoria, New York, also filled up its seven indoor tables “a couple of times” over the weekend, including Saturday night. Still, takeout and delivery made up most of the restaurant’s sales.
“We will be better off with 25% dining,” said owner-operator Jack Licata. “But 25% is just a band-aid. If it’s for an extended period going forward, we won’t survive.”two weeks ago that some indoor dining could resume. Some owners said they face staffing shortages and worry they’d be operating at a loss if they hired back more people.
Longer operating hours might help somewhat. Cuomo on Friday announced an extension to closing times at bars and restaurants from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., beginning Sunday.