"We're down as much as 90 percent from last year. We're also paying a premium rent. When the place was packed pre-COVID, it was okay, but it's impossible to stay open with such a drastic dip in sales," the owner says.
Morales says that while he agreed with — and complied with — state and local COVID mandates, they made it difficult to keep a bar open.
"We had lines to get in during the weekend, but we can't let people in if we're at seating capacity," the bar says, explaining that while Wood's official capacity is 440, all patrons must be seated and the venue has only about 100 tables and 200 seats.