NYC indoor dining reopens at 25% capacity; Cuomo extends hours to 11 p.m. starting Feb. 14

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that restaurants can stay open until 11 p.m., starting Feb. 14.

News 12 Staff

Feb 13, 2021, 3:12 AM

Updated 1,388 days ago

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Indoor dining in New York City officially reopened Friday at 25% just in time for Valentine's Day weekend.
Customers flocked to Charlie's Bar and Kitchen in Mott Haven despite the frigid temperatures on Friday night. Even though icy conditions are expected this Valentine's Day weekend, customers were ready to spend their money after being cooped up.
"Outside was pretty terrible, so being inside is just really nice, good to be back indoors and out of the cold," says Adia Cummings, a patron of the restaurant.
General manager Sam Toosi says the last year has been a roller coaster ride and they've been powering through.
The restaurant had to adapt quickly to rules and regulations constantly changing, like from initially being told they would be allowed to open on Sunday to then the state pushing up the indoor dining start date to Friday.
"In this business you have to expect the unexpected and as soon as I saw that, we made adjustments," Toosi says. "We had plenty of people on standby willing to work and we had to ‘stick and move,’ as they say."
The governor also announced that restaurants will be allowed to stay open until 11 p.m. starting on Valentine's Day.
Toosi says that last hour is crucial and now they don't have to rush out customers who are having a good time in their restaurant late at night.