Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Restaurants hoping that outdoor Bills parties could give them a boost, especially in the Orange Zone where no indoor dining is allowed, were hit with a sinking feeling yet again when they found out the game would take place at 8:15 Saturday night.
Restrictions on dining in both Yellow and Orange Zones state that restaurants must close at 10:00 PM. That would mean that anyone watching the game would have to head home by halftime.
"I was very hopeful it was going to be on Sunday," said Dave Schutte, owner of Britesmith Brewing in Williamsville. "As soon as that game time hit, my heart sunk. Immediately I thought of 10:00."
Chris Ring, owner of Rec Room on Chippewa Street in Buffalo, called the start time a heartbreaker. He was able to serve people who reserved outdoor tables on a closed off section of the street for the Bills' first playoff game last Saturday, a watch party that had to be meticulously planned in cooperation with the City.
"If we can't service patrons for the full four or five hours to try to recoup that expense, only being open for half time just doesn't justify it," Ring told WBEN. "We wouldn't be able to do it."
Both Schutte and Ring say that there is talk of formally asking Governor Cuomo to lift the 10:00 PM, curfew for this Saturday. Mayor Byron Brown and other local lawmakers have also petitioned the state to be able to have relief for that curfew.
Restaurants are also hopeful that a lawsuit involving over 70 businesses suing the state over Orange Zone restrictions will be decided in their favor. The suit argues that the State's own data shows gathering at restaurants with limited restrictions is safe.
"You're safer in a restaurant than you are in your home," Schutte said. "You have 1.4% infection rate from restaurants and 75% in your house... Why don't we have the restaurants open so we have a better chance of having a healthier environment for people."
