Page 6 - Steak Loft News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Email* Submit East Lyme — Just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, the newest restaurant in Niantic was already hopping. Families, couples and friends gathered at tables, booths and high-tops, taking up about two-thirds of the spots. The sounds of friendly chatter and laughter bubbled in the air. The savory smells of Mexican food floated by, as the wait staff brought out dishes and drinks. And within an hour? Customers had to wait to get in because the place was full. This was the scene on the second day since La Llorona Progressive Mexican Cuisine officially opened. The spac...

Jon Kodama kept his four restaurants running with the help of the federal government.

Email* Submit With help from a second round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, restaurateur Jon Kodama is hopeful his eateries will limp along until spring and be among the local survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We will get back to some kind of normal eventually and the normal is not going to be upside down or opposite of what it was,” said Kodama, who owns four local restaurants and has been in the food service business for 48 years. “At some point we are going to get back to normal and it is going to be some version of what it was and probably closer t...