Like almost everything else, sales of party supplies are very low. 50-person celebration kits remain packed on Doolin’s Party Supply shelves.
“Usually these days are the busiest days of the year and we’re usually doing more than 6,000 balloons. We go crazy, we don’t know which way there is,” said owner Nicholas Doolin. “There’s a much darker moment here. We’re just looking forward to ending 2020.”
And with lower temperatures and no indoor dining area, people have restaurants that heat things up on the patio.
At the Greek-inspired Avli restaurant, reservations arrive quickly, as do pending orders, with 60 already filling up for Thursday night.
Many restaurants are pushing their special offers for New Year’s Eve to help provide additional support during a fiscal year that is already extremely difficult.
“Everyone tries, everyone tries to be safe, follow the rules and have our jobs as much as we can,” said Dimitris Dib, Avli’s chief executive.
RELATED: Chicago area restaurants find a new way to celebrate the New Year, leaving 2020 behind
And Chicago officials remind people to celebrate safely.
The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection even warns that they plan to enforce city rules on New Year’s Eve and until the weekend, not just with appointments, but with business closures. , and horse.
In fact, a party with more than 150 people had just closed Saturday on the 5400 block of North Avenue, so officers will be on the lookout Thursday.
In Avli, they make the most of its large courtyard with a capacity for 80 people. With some places still available for New Year’s Eve, the chef is ready to serve as many people as he can safely.
“The property spent a lot of money buying heaters to make the yard feel inside,” Dib said.
Usually on New Year’s Eve, the city offers free trips on CTA, but Chicago officials said that is not the case this year.
RELATED: internationally inspired ways to sound in 2021 from your kitchen
In a statement, a CTA spokesman said: “As we continue to face the effects of an unprecedented global health crisis, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) encourages citizens to follow the health guidelines set by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and celebrate this year responsibly from the comfort and safety of home this year, so there will be no free trips on CTA buses or trains on New Year’s Eve nor the end of the year.
“This decision was made with the best interests of our pilots and employees in mind, and is in line with what other traffic agencies are doing this year in response to the pandemic, including those in the cities of Dallas, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Toronto and Vancouver. ”
Copyright © 2021 WLS-TV. All rights reserved.