WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — According to the New York State Restaurant Association, 78% of New Yorkers support a permanent expansion of the alcohol to-go option restaurants offered during the pandemic.

Now the state is doing away with it, as Governor Cuomo lifts the state of emergency, which has been in effect since the outset of the pandemic. 

"Yeah, so alcohol to-go was a big plus," said Ellie Grenauer, the co-owner of the Glen Park Tavern in Williamsville.

Alcohol to-go has been a hit for the Glen Park Tavern, especially over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays last year. At that time, it was closed to indoor dining amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

"Now, as the pandemic's gone on and we're reopened, now the alcohol to-go is more of a boost to the customer,” Grenauer said. “The customer likes it." 

She said alcohol to-go accounts for about 5% to 10% of sales a week, which is welcome revenue as restaurants try to recover from the pandemic. 

On Wednesday, Cuomo announced alcohol to-go will come to a halt this week, now that the state of emergency that New York's been under since March 2020 will not be renewed.

Grenauer believes no longer offering alcohol to-go won't kill the business, but the sales from it have been making a difference during this apparent labor shortage. 

"We're shortstaffed, which everyone is,” she said. “It's not just the restaurant business. So it's kind of nice when you can offer those extra little bit of sales when you can't really gain inside the restaurant.”

She adds that the tavern has always been allowed to sell bottles of beer and even six packs to go, and that's something that will continue. 

"The other thing I can do is if you come in and have dinner and you order a bottle of wine and you only drink one glass of wine, I can wrap that bottle up with a receipt attached to it, and I can give you that to take home," she said.

This is all in an effort to keep their doors open and their customers happy.