Gov. Lamont Relaxes Connecticut Restaurant Curfew

Because most of Connecticut's restaurants have been operating professionally in the wake of a pandemic, the Hartford Courant has reported that Governor Lamont has decided to roll back the 10 PM curfew he established last November to 11 PM beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3.

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Since last March, when the coronavirus pandemic kicked into gear, it's been a constant struggle for restaurants to stay afloat, as proven by about 600 of the state's eateries closing their doors due to lack of customers.

Restaurants that have commented about the extra one hour are thrilled, like Matt Storch of Match Restaurant in Norwalk and Match Burger Lobster in Westport who said the added hour is "fantastic".

Some restauranteurs told the Courant they should be trusted to do the right thing without time or capacity limits. Matt Storch said,

At this point in time, jamming people into restaurants with no mask restrictions and no spacing would just be a bad idea. We understand that keeping customer confidence high gets us to the finish line.

 

As the vaccine rollout currently moves along at a snail's pace, what's next for the restaurant industry? New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that effective March 15, wedding receptions of up to 150 people could be held at restaurants where that number is 50% of capacity but with the stipulation that everyone attending must be subject to rapid virus tests.

Connecticut restauranteurs that have the capacity to host 150 people are hoping the state will adopt Cuomo's directive because currently, capacity restrictions are at 25 people for an indoor event. The executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, Scott Dolch, said,

It's not so much that we want that March date, it's the ability to have a date set, so you know when you can have 150 people inside. That would give people hope.