BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston restaurant owners and workers are worriedly staring down three weeks of no dine-in business after a statewide order banning sit-down service.
Gov. Charlie Baker ordered all bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service starting Tuesday though April 5 in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus. That means that for the first time in its history, the Union Oyster House in Faneuil Hall will close.
“We will comply, we will be open when we’re told,” said Union Oyster House president Joe Milano, who said the restaurant’s 90 employees will be paid during that time and its food will be donated to a shelter. “We’ll be OK, we’ll manage, but in the long term this is very very difficult.”
Jim Tziavas of Jim’s Deli in Brighton said he understood the need for restaurant closings.
“We’re doing our best to keep going but you gotta be safe than sorry,” Tziavas said. “It’ll be tough but we’ll get through it.”
But it’s unclear how many places will move forward.
“Things are changing so dramatically, so quickly, it’s hard to plan the next step,” said Jim Quelle of Sons of Boston in Fanueil Hall. “It’s hard to know what to do.”
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