‘No show’ restaurant reservations mark a new era in borough dining table deposits
Updated Feb 19, 2021;
Posted Feb 19, 2021
A newly reopened Angelina s in Tottenville where Sunday brunch this February has been booked solid. (Courtesy of Vincent Malerba)Vincent Malerba
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Managing a dining room with 25% capacity means working on even tighter margins than usual. Reservation no-shows add to a restaurant’s difficulties in the pandemic recovery. Some owners have responded with a refreshed look at deposit and table-holding policies.
“We had one week when 45 people didn’t show up or at least call to cancel a reservation,” said Vincent Malerba of Angelina’s Ristorante. His family’s Tottenville venue also took a hit over the winter when its liquor license was suspended. It was returned just before Valentine’s Day. The upscale eatery recently implemented a $45 per-drinking-guest reservation policy. Monies are used as a credit toward
Life Upended: ‘I’m going through hell,’ says restaurant owner
Updated Jan 11, 2021;
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Life Upended.
The coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating impact on our nation, and it has touched Staten Islanders in countless ways. In this series, reporter Tracey Porpora will share the stories of those who have been thrust into situations that were unimaginable just a few months ago those who have seen their life completely upended. This is the Thirtieth story of “
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. After being in the restaurant business for much of his adult life, Adrian Lakja, 42, a native of Albania who immigrated to America from Europe, finally realized his dream of owning his own restaurant in December 2018 when he opened Trattoria Toscana in Great Kills.