Massachusetts restaurants prepare for rush of customers with Saturday state reopening

The beer is on ice and restaurateurs say they’re ready as patrons hungry to celebrate the end of pandemic mandates are expected to hit the city en masse today.

“We’re preparing to be as busy as it was back in like the 2019 playoff run,” said Nolan Hamilton, manager at Hurricane’s at the TD Garden. “We are expecting it to be 100 miles per hour pretty quickly.”

Massachusetts today will lift its mask mandate in most settings along with capacity restrictions, gathering limits and several other COVID-19 public health measures that have been in place since the pandemic hit, leaving business owners and residents rejoicing.

“We’re excited because staff has been waiting for 14 months for this day to come,” Hamilton said, adding that he has stocked up on product, glassware and other essentials along with making sure enough staff will be working.

Hamilton said customers won’t be required to wear a mask, but staff will remain masked.

Dave Ferrando, manager at Causeway Restaurant and Bar, said, “I mean it’s definitely going to be an influx, it’s like people are revving their engines for a year and a half now.”

Ferrando said he hired extra security to control the crowds and ordered more food as well. Customers at Causeway will also not be required to wear a mask.

In addition to the pent-up excitement of getting out of the house and cutting loose, Boston will be buzzing as the Bruins take on the New York Islanders at 8 tonight.

Anthony Broccoli, of Somerville, said he has season tickets to the Bruins and can’t wait to attend a game at full capacity.

“I’m excited to see it full again and see that amount of people together, so it will be fun. It’s kind of like a kickoff to summer,” Broccoli told the Herald outside TD Garden on Friday.

Gov. Charlie Baker was just as optimistic during a Friday press conference where he welcomed reopening the state 100%.

“People in Massachusetts have been through so much over the past year. But together, they have done a spectacular job of putting COVID on the run,” Baker said.

He signed orders to rescind remaining coronavirus restrictions and end the state of emergency on June 15.

Baker thanked residents for getting vaccinated, boasting the Bay State’s vaccine uptake is one of the best in the country. More than 78% of the adult population has now received at least one dose.

“Given the data as it currently exists right now, Massachusetts is at a place where we can lift these restrictions and do so with a fairly high degree of confidence that people have done the things that we needed to do to beat this thing down,” Baker said.

Getting emotional, Baker said there have been “so many just astonishing story stories of kindness and grace and generosity. But the most important thing people did was they got vaccinated.”

When asked about running for re-election, Baker said, “That’s something that the lieutenant governor and I and our families are going to talk about.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2RXs4ce