VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — William Gray, of Grace O’Malley’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Norfolk, is worried about Governor Ralph Northam’s latest round of COVID-19 restrictions.
The governor’s office released new state-wide guidelines on Friday to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The changes are expected to have a direct impact on bars and restaurants in Virginia.
“We know this virus is spreading in indoor places like restaurants where people take off their masks when they eat,” said Northam. “It’s spreading at small social gatherings like dinner parties.”
Northam said he is closely monitoring spikes of COVID-19 in other states and does not want Virginia to reach similar levels. But for Gray, the changes will be detrimental to business.
“It’s going to impact us,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty hard to stay afloat if we have to go through that.”
The new restrictions include limiting social gatherings to 25 people -- down from 250 -- and the limit applies to indoor and outdoor gatherings. The limit does not apply to schools, businesses, or churches. Bars and restaurants must also close by midnight, and alcohol cannot be sold after 10 p.m. starting Monday.
In Virginia Beach, Mayor Bobby Dyer said he would have liked for the Governor to notify the Commonwealth’s largest city before issuing new mandates. Dyer said he found out from a waiter while eating at a local restaurant.
“No matter how you look at this, it is going to negatively affect local economies,” said Dyer.
YNot Italian owner Toni DiSilvestro said the new rules will hurt the catering side of his Virginia Beach restaurant, which he already had many orders lined up. Those orders will likely cancel now.
“And December is our busiest month,” said DiSilvestro. “We already have had a few big catering orders cancel tonight. But this will really hurt my bar and restaurant friends in the area.”
Both DiSilvestro and Gray agree that the virus is serious, but that doesn’t soften the financial impact.
“Each phase we’ve had to adjust and we’ll do it with this one too,” he said. “It’s what we’ll have to do.”