Boston Nightclub Owner Says August Reopening 'Just Doesn't Make Sense'
BOSTON (CBS) - On Thursday, Governor Charlie Baker told reporters that the August 1 date for the entire state to reopen could be moved up if vaccinations continue to move at a quick pace. "If people want to get more normal faster, go get vaccinated," the Governor said. "That is the fastest way to get us from here to there."
August 1 isn't soon enough for some nightclubs, according to Big Night Live Entertainment Group owner Randy Greenstein. "If Connecticut is [reopening in] May and Rhode Island is May, why are we August 1?"
Big Night Live, a music club connected to the TD Garden that opened shortly before the pandemic, has transformed itself into a makeshift spin studio for a local gym. The club has been shuttered since March 2020.
"It's been the worst because economically we're down 85 percent," Greenstein explained. "We've lost over 100 million dollars as a company."
The company has spent time in the past year raising money for its employees and doing philanthropic work.
Big Night Live has roughly 800 employees currently out of work at its multiple locations across Massachusetts and Connecticut, Greenstein explained.
The idea of reopening fully is exciting to Greenstein. "I miss the feeling at one of our venues as it fills up and just watching as people arrive and just having so much fun with the music," he said.
But August 1 is too far away, he explained. "We're number one in the country for vaccinations, but the last to reopen. Florida is full send, Texas full send, everybody's open," he said.
It is true that Massachusetts ranks number one in the country for vaccinations among states with more than 5 million people.
"It just doesn't make sense that we're unable to open and give our adults a choice," Greenstein said.
Big Night Entertainment Group also owns The Grand nightclub in Boston's Seaport District.