Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file photo
Chicago restaurant owners hope to celebrate Valentine’s Day by opening their doors to more customers this weekend.
Members of the Chicago Restaurants Coalition called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen to increase indoor dining capacity to 50% or impose a 50-person maximum by Feb. 12, just in time for the holiday. Roger Romanelli, the coalition’s coordinator, pointed to the city’s declining COVID-19 positivity rate, which has fallen by nearly 1.5% since partial indoor dining was restored two weeks ago.
“It’s critical to understand: Restaurants have lost millions and millions of dollars during the pandemic, but especially during the holiday season,” Romanelli said. “The COVID rate is down, we think the time is right. We think restaurants have earned this by working so hard.”