SAN FRANCISCO, CA — With COVID less on people’s mind and Valentine’s Day weekend here, small businesses are seeing more foot traffic in their doors.
Huge crowds were seen in many parts of San Francisco on Saturday evening, raising up business owners’ hopes that this weekend will bring in much needed sales.
“It feels like the pandemic is over. It feels like people are back,” said Khalil Shaw, who was among the hundreds of people gathered enjoying the warm weather in San Francisco’s Dolores Park.
From the East Bay to the South Bay, many people made their way to the city for a good night out.
House of Prime Rib general manager Steven Betz said they were all booked up this weekend with 800 reservations on Saturday, 600 reservations on Sunday, and 700 reservations on the actual Valentine’s Day holiday Monday.
“Our numbers are almost exactly as pre-pandemic right now,” said Betz. “Reservations are back, people are coming out. You can see it in people’s eyes; people are not scared anymore.”
Are people no longer scared of COVID? Are things back to normal? Maybe not quite. But this weekend shows a general increase in consumers’ willingness to take the risk and head outside for fun with loved ones.
Perhaps the Super Bowl weekend combined with Valentine’s Dy was just the combination needed for get people out the door.
