Curfew goes into effect in Chicago for non-essential businesses

A 10 p.m. curfew went into effect tonight for all non-essential businesses in Chicago, and restaurants are already feeling the strain.

CHICAGO - A 10 p.m. on Friday, curfew went into effect for all non-essential businesses in Chicago.

Some restaurant owners say they are already feeling the strain.

Kenny Johnson, the owner of Bureau Bar and Restaurant in the South Loop, said they are usually open until 1:30 a.m., but with Chicago’s latest coronavirus restrictions, they have to close at 10 p.m.

“They know that we can't stay open late so a lot of reservations [were] canceled today,” said Johnson.

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The restrictions also prohibit bars without a retail food license, like The Sage Room, to serve customers indoors.

Johnson owns that business, too.

“We need help, the restaurant industry needs help,” said Johnson.

Additionally, indoor service at bars and restaurants in Will, Kankakee, DuPage and Kane Counties is no longer allowed.

Sam Toia with the Illinois Restaurant Association says restaurants are down 50 to 80 percent in sales.

“We would like to keep communicating with the governor and his team,” said Toia.

The governor is once again encouraging people to wear masks, saying that the statewide number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased 17 percent over the last week.

“The natural things that people do in bars and restaurants, unfortunately, are exactly the natural way in which this virus transmits,” said Pritzker.

The city’s non-essential business curfew runs from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. and will be in effect for at least two weeks.