PITTSFIELD â A year of forced restrictions and closures that made operating extremely difficult finally might be coming to an end for Berkshire restaurants.
Although things arenât back to normal yet, local restaurant owners believe that the worst is behind them as the local economy begins to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.
âI think weâre going to be fine,â said Mickey Soldato, who owns three area restaurants, Zucchiniâs and The Roasted Garlic in Pittsfield and Marioâs in New Lebanon, N.Y. âI think weâre absolutely on the downside of this.â
âItâs definitely daylight,â said Tony Mazzeo, who, along with his brother, Michael, owns Mazzeoâs Ristorante in Pittsfield. âPeople are getting vaccinated, and thatâs helping.â
As the state prepares to loosen gathering restrictions, restaurants across Berkshire County are eyeing the future with wary optimism.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday that he would remove the cap that has been in place since indoor dining restarted last year. The stateâs capacity limit has fluctuated from 25 to 50 percent as COVID-19 levels rose and fell, while Pittsfield enacted a complete ban for more than a month after a transmission spike last year.
The rollbacks go into effect Monday. Restaurant owners point out, though, that ongoing 6-foot distancing guidelines will keep most county restaurants well below full capacity, and that larger venues will benefit more from the policy, while many local restaurants still will have to wait for warm weather and increased vaccine distribution before significantly expanding operations.