Upstate NY restaurants can soon seat up to 75% capacity, but will that help them?
Updated Mar 08, 2021;
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The latest easing up on restrictions for bars and restaurants in Upstate New York will allow them to seat up to 75% of their normal capacity, an increase from the current limit of 50%. It could start as soon as March 19.
But will that really change anything? With so many other restrictions still in place, perhaps not.
“It doesn’t mean that much if you still have to have that six feet of separation,” said Bud Loura, a local dining industry consultant, referring to table spacing that is part of the current Covid-19 social distancing requirement. “You can only fit so many tables and so many people in that case. Many places can’t get close to 50% much less 75% as it is.”
CNY’s best restaurants in 2020: Our critics pick their favorites
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
No one will argue that 2020 left a lot to be desired. But we still had to eat. So let’s give a huge thanks to all the Central New York restaurants that kept us fed and kept us happy.
We (Jared Paventi, Jane Woodman and Charlie Miller) visited well over 75 restaurants this year that had no choice but to adjust how how they served their fine food to us. The dining rooms were restricted to half of their occupancy. These trained chefs suddenly had to plate their creations into Styrofoam. And yet they did it, and they did it well.