EAST AURORA, N.Y. — New restrictions on bars, restaurants and any other business with a state liquor license will go into effect Friday.
The measures announced Wednesday are meant to slow the steady growth in COVID-19 cases around the state, including in Western New York according to Governor Cuomo.
Effective at 10 p.m. Friday, any establishment with a liquor license will have to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. Businesses that serve food however will be able to continue takeout.
While some Western New York businesses have already eliminated their late-night hours during the pandemic, Rookies Sports Bar and Grill in East Aurora has not.
"Bars like this, you make a lot more money on booze than you do on the food, so it will definitely be a big hit for us," bar manager TJ Crelly said.
As Crelly told 2 On Your Side, Rookies, like other bars, is often a destination after other establishments close. The sports bar and grill is usually open until 4 a.m.; it's been 2 a.m. when allowed during the pandemic.
"We're just hoping that we can lower this curve here and get back to where we were because you can't really make up the late-night bar sales that we have," Crelly said.
The 10 p.m. curfew will mean four hours of lost business, even though COVID-19 precautions don't stop based on the time of day. Crelly said on a busy weekend that could mean a 60 percent loss of revenue.
New York State's Reasoning
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a conference call Wednesday morning that contact tracing data identified bars, restaurants, and gyms as "main spreaders of COVID."
"That setting it's very hard to police," Cuomo said in regards to bars.
He added, "It's very hard to maintain the discipline of eating and chatting and having a good time and laughing, keeping a mask on, and bars and restaurants are one of the identified spreaders."
While Cuomo cited contact tracing data, none was provided after the call. A request for that information was submitted by 2 On Your Side Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. but has not received a response yet.
"I mean to me a lot of this stuff, some stuff makes sense, some stuff does not. I mean we're taking all the precautions here," Crelly said.
That sentiment was shared by the New York State Restaurant Association, which released this statement late Wednesday and many others.
A rally organized by several other bars in Western New York called Save Our Bars is set to take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in Niagara Square.