Local

Bars, restaurants celebrate end to curfew; some taking return to late night hours slowly

MIAMI VALLEY — On the first night without a curfew in Ohio, News Center 7 heard a lot of excitement from businesses, with mixed reaction when it came to their immediate plans.

Several area businesses impacted by the curfew for months swiftly took to social media Thursday to either announce or insinuate a quick restart to late night service.

“Curfew has been lifted… Come visit,” wrote McIntosh’s Pub & Grub in Bellbrook.

“Back to late night bowling!” said Beavercreek’s Beaver Vu Bowl.

“Let the bourbon flow…” said Dayton’s Century Bar on social media.

But when WHIO visited Van Buren Room in Dayton, the distillery and bar said it’s taking a more cautious approach.

While excited – “Today’s great,” General Manager Chance Campbell said – he also wants to make sure late night hours are feasible.

“The way we do things here, I think we should just gradually (extend hours), because I never want to make a decision then roll back on it,” Campbell explained.

Part of his caution comes from Governor DeWine’s word of warning Thursday as he announced the end of the curfew – sparked by nine straight days under the state’s threshold of 2,500 or fewer COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen with the (COVID) variants,” DeWine said, warning of a re-imposed curfew if the virus numbers worsen dramatically again. “We could be back in a situation where we have climbing cases.”

Still, any extra business helps for a bar and restaurant industry hit hard by the pandemic for nearly a year now.

New numbers from the Ohio Restaurant Association this week reveal 4,000 Ohio food service and bar locations lost. In a recent survey, 62 percent of owners surveyed did not anticipate breaking even in 2021 – after many experienced losses in 2020.

Part of that forecast is driven by what Campbell is expecting at Van Buren Room.

“I would imagine we are wearing masks and distancing until at least the holiday season,” he predicted.

And while he plans to take things gradually in a return to late night hours – “I don’t know that I’ll print an actual schedule for six months,” he said – Campbell does see this as a step in the right direction for his business and others.

“it’s a net positive for the industry,” he said.

0
Comments on this article