Nine months into Covid lockdowns, how one New York restaurant is barely keeping our nose above the water before we drown. Andrea Mustain Tom s Restaurant, near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, opened in 1936.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down indoor dining in New York City again this week, and one
beloved Brooklyn diner is struggling to hang on.
New York City restaurants have been devastated by the pandemic, and some estimates suggest that a full half of all restaurants and bars could close permanently across the city.
The situation is dire, and a federal bailout is the only real solution, said New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie.
Andrea Mustain for Insider
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down indoor dining in New York City again this week, and one
beloved Brooklyn diner is struggling to hang on.
New York City restaurants have been devastated by the pandemic, and some estimates suggest that a full half of all restaurants and bars could close permanently across the city.
The situation is dire, and a federal bailout is the only real solution, said New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie.
First came the good news: The Food and Drug Administration announced on Dec. 11 it had authorized a vaccine to combat COVID-19. Then, the bad news. Virus hospitalizations in New York were continuing to rise; the seven-day average hit 200 at the end of the week, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shutting down indoor dining, once again. Yeah, I just heard a little while ago, said Vasilios (Billy) Tourloukis, a manager at Tom s Restaurant, a diner a few blocks from Brooklyn s Prospect Park.