New Year’s Eve looking different for restaurants and bars

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)  – Restaurants and bars are gearing up for what’s supposed to be one of their biggest nights of the year. This year, both won’t have anyone ringing in the new year with them when the clock strikes midnight.

“It’s been very difficult, you know, financially, emotionally, and very draining. We can’t wait for this year to be finished,” said Mark Fichtner.

Fichtner is the owner of ‘Carson’s Food and Drink.’ He said they typically would host a prohibition ball at Carson’s on New Year’s Eve.

Nobody will be popping corks at midnight at any bar or restaurant to ring in the new year because of the pandemic.

“We would normally be open until 1:30 a.m., you know, dancing all night, and we’d have 200 or 150 people in here toasting the New Year in,” said Fichtner.

“We’re going to go ahead and do our regular dinner service, and then we’re offering a special New Year’s Eve entree,” he explained.

All bars and restaurants have to stop serving food and alcohol at 11 p.m. while operating at 50 percent capacity.

‘The Paddock’ bar owner Erick Ostrander said it’s just another hit in a year of beatings from the Coronavirus.

“It sucks,” said Ostrander. “Our biggest day of the year is Halloween. We went through that with a curfew and reduced capacity. Now we’re going through our second biggest day of the year, New Year’s Eve, with the same thing.”

Ostrander said even using outdoor tents, it probably won’t be the packed bar he typically would see. He’s encouraging people to come out early and celebrate before watching the ball drop at home.

“It should be fun,” Ostrander explained. “I mean, we’re not ‘bah humbugging’ by any stretch of the imagination. We’re going to do $10 bottles of champagne all night, and the doors open at 5 O’Clock.”

Even with restrictions, everyone is ready to celebrate a new year with new hope and new promise.