Some restaurants closing or scaling back for New Year’s Eve
As COVID-19 numbers ticked up and staffers called in about exposure to the virus or waiting for test results, New Haven restaurant owner John Ginnetti began to think about the right thing to do.
He and his co-owner discussed closing for longer than they normally would over Christmas. His coowner is also his ex-wife, and so, he said with a chuckle, “we have no problem arguing.” But this time, they agreed.
They’re skipping New Year’s Eve and the weekend.
They both thought it would be safest to remain closed temporarily. As a result, Meat & Co. and 116 Crown will be closed until at least Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, respectively, Ginnetti said — to protect staff and customers.
“The last thing we want is for them to sort of get it on our watch,” Ginnetti said of the coronavirus illness, which jumped on Wednesday to a positive test rate of 18 percent in Connecticut.
Across the state, restaurants are voluntarily closing, cutting down on capacity or fielding reservation cancellations ahead of one of the busiest nights of the year for the restaurant industry, said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association.
Many, perhaps most, remain open but they may expect far smaller crowds than they might have seen based on conditions just a few days ago. It’s another in a series of setbacks and struggles that have befallen the restaurant industry in recent months.
Haven Hot Chicken in New Haven posted online that it would be closed until at least Jan. 2. Avert Brasserie in West Hartford posted that they’d be closed until Thursday. Broken Symmetry Gastro Brewery in Bethel posted that they’d be closed until Jan. 1 because of staff exposure.
The increased COVID-19 case numbers, which officials have said is caused partly by the spread of the omicron variant and partly by indoor, Christmas week gatherings, have many restaurant owners rethinking their plans for New Years Eve, Dolch said.
“A lot of the restaurants said to me early on, ‘We’re going to do New Years but we’re going to do it differently,’” Dolch said.
That means precautions such as cutting down on capacity, Dolch said.
Brian Jessurun, partner in four restaurants in the northeast part of the state including Dog Lane Café and Fenton Grill in Mansfield, Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret and 85 Main in Putnam, said the two that would normally host New Year’s Eve business will close eary — 10 p.m. at 85 Main and an undetrmined time at Fenton Grill.
Both would typically stay open until 12:30 a.m., Jessurun said.
“If the bar starts to fill up we will close early because it’s exposing my staff,” he said. “Also it’s amateur night and I don’t want my staff on the road after midnight.”
Business has been strong this year, he said. Being in a more rural area, they usually don’t do anything special for New Year’s Eve other than being open.
“It’s a very busy night for us, but we’d rather err on the side of caution and protect our staff,” he said.
The pandemic has been particularly tough on the restaurant industry.
A survey from earlier this year showed that Connecticut’s restaurants are still suffering from effects of the pandemic. About three-quarters of local eateries’ sales in August were weaker than in 2019, according to information from the Connecticut Restaurant Association.
Many have closed permanently and those that stayed open are paying more for foods and goods, the survey showed. Labor shortages, inflation and supply chain problems have also affected Connecticut eateries, restaurant owners said.
Several across the state closed for a few extra days around Christmas to give employees a break. After working understaffed for months, many needed a reset, Dolch said.
Match Restaurant, in Norwalk, closed Christmas Day and remained closed until Wednesday “for rest purposes,” owner and chef Matt Storch said.
Storch is also planning for a few days off for staff after New Years Day — they’re always off on Jan. 1 but he’ll stretch it out.
The past couple of weeks, the restaurant has been getting cancellations, either from people who want to avoid possible COVID exposure or who have tested positive for the illness, Storch said.
But the restaurant has a waiting list for New Years Eve, so he’s hoping business won’t suffer too much.
Match has a mask requirement for moving around the restaurant, he said.
“Stay healthy, people,” he said. “Wear a mask, let’s be smart about it for the next couple of months, and once again we will get through it. …I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t get pummeled here.”
Similarly, state Rep. David Rutigliano, a partner in the SBC Restaurant Group, said his restaurants saw several cancellations for catering holiday office parties.
But other than that, people are still coming out to eat and walk-in business hasn’t suffered, he added. The Trumbull Republican had expected a falloff. A testing site across the street hasn’t been busy for months but is suddenly packed, what he thought could be a harbinger of less restaurant business.
“Most people do what they’re comfortable with,” Rutigliano said. “We have some people that wear masks, some customers that don’t.”
Ginnetti, in New Haven, said he’s using the days of closure to make some improvements at his restaurants. He’s encouraged by customers who have been supportive through the pandemic, he said.
“The past years have certainly been hell on my business,” he said, “but the guest behavior has been so encouraging.”