Restaurants, bars enjoying 'resurgence' of sales

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Many restaurants and bars are enjoying a long-awaited bounceback of business. From Cary to Raleigh and beyond, restaurants are seeing sales substantially shooting up.

Taverna Agora is reporting that numbers have almost doubled in the last couple of weeks.

General Manager Michael Garcia said the numbers are back to 2019 levels and last week, the Raleigh restaurant made about $12,000 more than the same time that year.

The Hillsborough Street restaurant has a huge rooftop patio and people have been dining outdoors.

"It's been such cabin fever for so many people that they are just thrilled," Garcia said.

The weather has been beautiful and more folks are fully vaccinated.

"I've had a lot of people come in that tell me, 'this is the first time that they've been out in over a year to come to a restaurant.' They're comfortable about it," Garcia said.

The owner of La Santa Mexican Restaurant in Raleigh told ABC11 that it is no longer taking reservations and it is now first-come, first-served. Even Mondays are busy, which is typically is the slowest day of the week.

Though there is all this extra business, it's a double-edged sword.

"The labor market is so tight. Everybody in the hospitality industry is struggling for people," Garcia said.

Many owners and general managers are having a hard time getting staffers back on the job.

"It was a not banner year for the restaurant industry last year, so everybody's enjoying the fact that we've got this resurgence. Now it's just about making sure we can meet that demand and do our best to keep up with the influx of people coming in," Garcia said.

If you're looking for a job, numerous restaurants and bars are hiring.