LAS VEGAS (FOX 5) – It’s welcome news for restaurants: no reservations required, increased capacity limits for indoor dining, and no restrictions for outdoor dining.
Governor Steve Sisolak outlined his “Roadmap to Recovery” Thursday, including a path for the restaurant industry. Gino Ferraro, owner of Ferraros east of the Las Vegas Strip, welcomed the news.
“We have to open the city, Las Vegas has to open,” said Ferraro.
Ferraro has been a proud restaurant owner for 35 years, but this past year has been the toughest firing staff who have been with him for decades.
“It’s heartbreaking. Some of these people don’t have a lot of money, they live day after day or week after week, ”said Ferraro. “Every extra table, every extra dollar counts now more than ever.”
“We closed for five to ten months last year. We only reopened last week, ”explained Ferraro.
With the current requirements, Ferraro can cater to a maximum of 150 people inside and outside on the terrace of his restaurant; before the pandemic it was 500 people per night.
“We turned literally thousands of people this weekend because we only need 25 percent,” said Ferraro.
Sisolak’s “Roadmap to Recovery” enables a capacity of 35% for indoor meals from February 15 and 50% from March 15.
“We thought it was more, but it’s going in the right direction so we’re happy about it,” added Ferraro.
According to Alexandria Dazlich of the Nevada Restaurant Association, all that counts for restaurants to be successful is the numbers.
“The more capacity you have for customer care, the greater the possibility of making a profit … although we are not where we ultimately want to be, we are grateful,” Dazlich told FOX5.
Dazlich believes the governor’s decision to lift reservations from Monday will make a big difference.
“That will allow more people to come in and ask if they can sit down at a table,” argued Dazlich.
Ferraro hopes things will soon get back to how they were before the pandemic because even with the increased capacity from next week, it will still be a struggle.
“We do a lot of local business, but if you don’t have conventions it’s hard to survive,” said Ferraro.
