SAN DIEGO — California dropped the majority of its pandemic restrictions and mask mandates this week, but heading into the first weekend of feeling “fully open”, businesses are seeing a surge.
“Things kind of went from zero to 100 really quickly,” said PJ Busalacchi, general manager at Barbusa in Little Italy.
San Diego’s hot spots were packed with people Friday night eager to enjoy going out with no restrictions.
California may be open again, but not all businesses, especially restaurants are fully staffed just yet.
“Mostly in the kitchen, in the back of the house we are a little bit short staffed, but everyone is ready to work everyone is ready to just get back,” Busalacchi said.
Over in the Gaslamp Quarter, things were just as busy coming off the heels of the Padres’ Opening Day take two with more games on the way.
“Fifth was hoppin’, which is great to see,” said Philip Nestor, bar manager at The Field. “We want everyone to be busy and it just shows that we are getting back to normal.”
The Field also sharing the same sentiment of getting more workers on board.
“There’s a lot more people going out so it’s definitely been tricky to get staff in,” Nestor said. “We are a little bit overwhelmed, but we’ll keep working the Irish mentality is work until you fall down.”
With Father’s Day on tap for the weekend, plan ahead and be mindful of what businesses are experiencing.
“If you go out, be patient, be courteous of people that are serving you because we are working extra, extra hard right now to meet the demand,” Busalacchi said.