As more New Yorkers get vaccinated, COVID-19 restrictions are being eased across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • 11 p.m. statewide COVID-19 curfew has been lifted for some businesses
  • Restaurants and bars are excluded from the move
  • Local restaurant owners are baffled by the decision
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"It just doesn't make sense that they're still punishing the rest of the state when the science continually proves that restaurants are not the issue," Brandon Carr said. 

Casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys, pool halls, gyms and fitness centers can now stay open past 11 p.m. as the state pulls back some of its COVID restrictions. The move doesn't apply to some of the hardest hit establishments: restaurants and bars.

"There's a saying in restaurants: every hour you're not open, you're losing money. A lot of restaurants and bars, they don't even start making true profits until that 11 o'clock to 4 o'clock in the morning," Carr said.

Carr owns The Quarter in Buffalo and was part of a lawsuit with nearly 100 restaurants in the region that successfully challenged the state's COVID-19 mandates. Because of that, The Quarter is allowed to stay open until 4 a.m. Carr says safety guidelines are preventing the virus from spreading in bars and restaurants. 

He said, "When restaurants are open, that's when it's the safest place you can be. Everybody has put in these partitions. I've added personally additional security guards that I call mask police that sit there and make sure everyone is protected. We have our capacity limits too."

Carr tells Spectrum News if the restaurants in the suit can stay open late and safely serve customers, other restaurants should be able to as well.

The Buffalo Brewpub in Williamsville is also allowed to stay open past 11 p.m. since it was part of the legal action. Christopher Townsell, the general manager there, is trying to figure out why the curfew is still in effect for other places. 

"This particular ruling from the sidelines which is where the restaurants are that were in the lawsuit, from our seats, it further exemplifies the arbitrary and capricious nature of which these mandates are being applied or loosened," Townsell said.

He hopes other orders are re-examined like the mandate of selling food with alcohol. 

"We get a lot of customers coming saying that, well, I don't have to do that if I go down the street, there, here, or wherever they may have been previously. It makes it more difficult when they're not enforced and it makes it difficult to enforce the rules," he said.

Governor Cuomo says the state will continue reviewing curfews and may have more info later this month.