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Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker again rolled back the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan on Tuesday, instating a 25 percent capacity limit on restaurants, gyms, houses of worship and more starting Saturday. For business owners like Luke Marion, of downtown Pittsfield eatery Otto’s, the news is another blow in a brutal year. WAMC asked Marion what Baker’s new orders mean for him, his business and his staff.
MARION: I think you'd have to print my answer as "expletive deleted," to be quite honest with you. Really, what the f***. I mean, that's it. You know, I get it, I really do know, restaurants are a vector for for infection. I understand that. But I mean, this is like, it's like constantly being pummeled, is what this is like. You know, city, state restrictions, whatever it's- You know, we had, we opted into it, to shut down indoor dining a few weeks ago, before the city announced it in Pittsfield, and, you know, to make sure that we weren't going to have to close if we got COVID. Obviously, business took a hit, because, you know, there's only so much carry-out and delivery people want. So what, like two weeks ago now, they reopened indoor dining. We started to see a little bit of a pickup for indoor dining, and you know, it's, you know, starting to be able to pay our bills and all that, and 25 people's honestly nothing for us.