JADEN GERARD: Restaurants and businesses in Central New York are still struggling to recover from the pandemic. Bradley Hoppenstein is live outside a Syracuse restaurant that’s gotten some recent press, but the owner says they’re still struggling.
BRADLEY HOPPENSTEIN: So right now there’s about 1,100 active cases in Onondaga County. Right now I’m live outside Ale n’ Angus Pub which did get some recent positive press from ESPN’s Jay Bilas putting it on his top ten college town burgers list. I talked to owner Randy Beach and he said business is still struggling.
RANDY BEACH: “Good news this time of year especially after COVID…business is coming back every day, like every other restaurant out there we’re fighting for survival.
HOPPENSTEIN: Businesses has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. People are moving out of Central New York and others are scared of COVID-19. Owner Randy Beach said he’s still struggling to find workers even with business slowly increasing again. The unemployment rate in the state right now is 7.1 percent, but when have you ever heard of a pub closing at 4 p.m. on weekdays? That’s what Beach told me they’ve been doing to balance their short staff and returning from the pandemic. And, of course, state programs are also fading out along with federal stimulus programs…that’s the story across all of Central New York right now. Live outside Ale n’ Angus pub, Bradley Hoppenstein, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Businesses and restaurants across Central New York are still struggling to financially recover from their losses at the start of the pandemic.
As COVID-19 cases in Onondaga County continue to trend upward, some businesses still report as struggling to survive.
Ale ‘n’ Angus Pub in Syracuse, known for its burgers and beer, recently got some media attention from ESPN’s Jay Bilas putting it on his list of top ten burgers in college towns. However, even with the positive press and slight uptick in business from the attention, owner Randy Beach says the pub is still struggling.
“Business is coming back day by day…like every other restaurant out there we’re fighting for survival,” he said.
Beach said, as opposed to last year when the biggest issue was sales and profits, now many businesses in the area are having a hard time finding workers and staff.
“We’re just kind of scaling our hours back a little bit until we have the heads to stay open later again,” he said.
Beach also noted many other restaurants and businesses began to lean on state and federal COVID-19 stimulus funds, but they now have to face the harsh reality of that money now fading away.
Right now the unemployment rate in New York State is 7.1%, compared to the nationwide number of 4.6%.
Onondaga County currently has 1,173 active COVID-19 cases.
