The holiday season is full of festive dinners out, holiday parties or maybe grabbing drinks with friends.

And that’s all good news for restaurants and bars in New York.

After suffering during the pandemic and surges win COVID-19 cases last year, many restaurant owners are welcoming a year of normalcy.

It’s not just businesses that are excited to get back to normal, it looks like customers are too. According to the United States Census Bureau, food services like restaurants or bars are seeing a 14% increase compared to October of last year.

Our Robert Guaderrrama sat down with the president of the New York State Restaurant Association and has more.