TOLEDO, Ohio — If you've decided to ring in the New Year out on the town, hopefully you've made a reservation.
Why? Because a lot of these restaurants are already booked up.
The pandemic hasn't been kind to a lot of us and that's especially true for the hospitality industry as several restaurants have been forced to close their doors. Two local owners WTOL 11 spoke with Thursday say they're lucky enough to still be open: Angelo's Northwood Villa in Monroe, Michigan and Sakura Japanese Steakhouse in Toledo.
However it didn't come without some hardships. With staffing shortages still a main concern, they said it'll be all hands on deck this weekend for all the celebrations happening.
"New Year's Eve is probably one of the busiest nights of the year for us," said Nikolas Tsipis, the manager of Angelo's Northwood Villa. "So, we're kind of scrambling to get everything ready. We're on pretty good pace, but it is a busy night."
Sakura is also expecting a crowd.
"We're staying open. Actually, our reservation numbers are fully booked," explained the owner of Sakura, Vince Lee. "So, it's going to be really busy the next couple days. It's actually been really busy the last week."
From being forced to temporarily close at the beginning of the pandemic, offer take-out only and now nearly two years later, they are struggling to find enough workers.
"My father, myself and my brother all work together," Lee said. "We have a couple restaurants that we work together with and we were doing a lot of the cooking ourselves because we couldn't find cooks."
Until the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, it'll be all hands on deck at Angelo's Northwood Villa before staff has New Year's Day off.
"We bring some of the employees in because there's a lot of mess to clean up since we're here pretty late," said Tsipis.
Over at Sakura Japanese Steakhouse, the celebrations will continue through New Year's Day as the doors will remain open, working through shortages.
"Oh, there's been a shortage. Quantity shortage, staffing shortage," explained Lee. "Again, we appreciate all our customers supporting and understanding."
With COVID-19 cases on the rise here locally, health officials are urging you to get tested both before and after New Year's Eve celebrations and to wear a mask if you're gathering with others.