MAPLE SHADE, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey bars and restaurants will be taking another financial hit starting Wednesday when new orders will prohibit indoor food and alcohol service after 10 p.m.
Under Gov. Phil Murphy's latest executive order, bars, restaurants and casinos will not be allowed to serve food or alcohol indoors after that time starting Wednesday.
"It's going to affect our income tremendously," said Tommy Michaux, the owner of Jay's Elbow Room in Maple Shade. "We're a late-night establishment. We're open till 3 a.m. in the morning. A good percentage of our business is done between 10 and 3 a.m.," Michaux told KYW Newsradio.
The inability to serve food or alcohol indoors after 10 p.m. could take away 40% of his already-diminished business, Michaux said.
"Coupled with the fact that we were shut down for three months back in the spring, it hurts," he added.
Michaux said as the weather gets colder, customers won't want to spend as much time outside. He wondered how many customers will want to move outdoors at 10 p.m. on the night before Thanksgiving, which is traditionally the busiest night of the year.
"I'd like to invite the governor to come out here in February and have lunch outside in my parking lot and let me know what he thinks about how this impacts my business," Michaux said. "It's going to be a miserable winter if this continues on into 2021."
