Boston Restaurants Ready For Customers As Warm Weather, Tourism Initiative Ramps Up
BOSTON (CBS) -- Break out the cannoli's and take a stroll in the North End. Businesses and restaurants throughout the city are ready for tourists to return.
Luca Pircareillo's family-run Modern Pastry has been around for 91 years. "Come back, we miss you. We really need you. We are a local business and need your help," said Pircareillo.
The hospitality and tourism industry is still suffering from the pandemic.
"Revenue for the tourism sector is down as much as 70% and hotel room revenue is down 80% year over year," said Greater Boston Visitors Bureau Martha Sheridan.
On Monday, Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey announced a new initiative called All Inclusive Boston that is designed to attract visitors to the city's tourism and hospitality destinations that have been hit hard by the COVID pandemic.
The campaign also aims to shed the city's racist reputation in the process. A recent Saturday Night Live skit even took a dig at Boston as being a racist.
"I did not see SNL. I went to bed early. Boston does have a reputation as being a racist city, we all know that here. I am standing before you as the first Balck mayor of our city and first woman mayor and that symbolizes how far we've come. But I've been the first to say that we have a lot more work to do," Janey said.
All-Inclusive Boston Ads will appear in New England and the Tri-State area where potential visitors are within driving distance of Boston.
M & M BBQ located inside Dorchester Brewing hope the message gets out.
"Boston is very diverse and people are not educated enough about what goes on in the city and what we can offer in surrounding areas," said Geovanni Lambert of M&M BBQ.
All they need now are people from all backgrounds to fill these empty seats.
"We have a cleaning company that comes in and sanitizes every high touch surface area. We have the tracking system. We really just adapted in anticipation for this summer," Anthony Traniello of Dorchester Brewery said.