SYRACUSE — Laura Serway, owner of Laci’s Tapas Bar at 304 Hawley Ave. in Syracuse, says she has every intention of reopening the restaurant when the current coronavirus restrictions are lifted. A note on the restaurant’s website says that as of Thursday, March 26, Laci’s is “closed until further notice.” “At this time, continuing to […]
SYRACUSE — Laura Serway, owner of Laci’s Tapas Bar at 304 Hawley Ave. in Syracuse, says she has every intention of reopening the restaurant when the current coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
A note on the restaurant’s website says that as of Thursday, March 26, Laci’s is “closed until further notice.”
“At this time, continuing to keep Laci’s open has become unsustainable,” Serway wrote in the letter.
When asked in an interview if she considers the closure temporary, she replies emphatically, “Absolutely. As soon as we’re told that we can re-open, we will get ready and we’ll re-open. We won’t be able to do [it] the same day because everything is [freshly] made, so it takes a lot of [preparation] … once we’re given the go-ahead,” says Serway, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 6.
Serway had to lay off 30 of her workers during the temporary closure. The group was a combination of full-time and part-time employees. About one-third of her employees are full-time workers. A lot of her part-time workers also work another full-time job, she notes.
Laci’s Tapas Bar had attempted to continue operating as a carryout-only restaurant after Gov. Cuomo ordered all dine-in restaurants to close on March 16. But 10 days later, Serway decided that closing fully was the best move for her staff. In the restaurant business, she notes, the employees are closely interacting with a lot of people. Even though they sanitized pens and clipboards and took other precautions, the employees still faced risks each time they walked to somebody’s vehicle to bring them food. And the customers were at risk as well.
“So there’s a safety issue there and that’s for my team and for other people as well. That was my main reason,” Serway says.
She also notes that the restaurant couldn’t generate enough revenue operating as a carryout-only eatery to cover its expenses. “What’s the sense of staying open?,” Serway asks. “It’s got to make economic sense.”
Serway says she became “very fearful” when she became aware of Gov. Cuomo’s executive order to close restaurants and bars. She worried about her employees and worried about other restaurateurs in the area, wondering if some local establishments will ever be able to reopen when the time comes.
In the meantime, Serway says she’s using the extra time to work on projects in her home and at the restaurant that she hasn’t been able to focus on.
“It’s very weird being at home at night because I’m used to being at the restaurant,” she says.