ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Some Western New York restaurants are suing the state for restricting their business throughout the pandemic.

Now, the owner of Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta in Rochester is publicly voicing his objections.

The restaurant is getting support from Rochester councilman Jose Peo who will be joining the owner in voicing their concerns at a news conference on Wednesday.

In a statement, Owner Donald Swartz said:

"The governor's actions are preventing me and my employees from earning a living and forced me to lay off the majority of my staff at the holidays. We don't want a handout, we want to be open for dine-in to serve our customers."

Many restaurants in Western New York who are finding themselves in the orange zone share the same sentiment.

Swartz says about 40 bars and restaurants are listed in the lawsuit filed in Buffalo on December 24. The suit is scheduled to go to court Friday.

In one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's COVID-19 updates last month, he said restaurants and bars have a rate of transmission at 1.43%.

Petitions with thousands of signatures have also been circulating.

Jodi Johnson, the owner of The Cub Room off of Clinton Avenue, has shared a petition on her restaurant's Facebook page.

She says there's a difference between all of the restaurants shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic and making restaurants shut down in microcluster zones.

"The difference was everyone was shut. What's making it hard to swallow even is that the suburbs are open. People are getting to go dine out, go sit in a restaurant and eat. Take out... it isn't doing well," said Johnson.

This story will be updated following Wednesday's news conference.