SPOKANE, WA – The owner of The Bistango Martini Lounge, Reema Shaver, spent the first two months of 2021 fighting to open her doors to 25% capacity, or risk going under.
“I refuse to give up I just really will not let this beat me,” Shaver said.
Never give up, it’s what Shaver told herself even when it seemed like, after 15 years of business, the year 2020 would be the last.
“There were a lot of times I seriously did not know if I could continue,” Shaver said.
But as the old saying goes, times are darkest just before the dawn, and this week governor Jay Inslee shed some more light on restaurant owners.
We are now eligible to move forward on phase three of our economic recovery plan,” Inslee said. “This means restaurants, gyms, fitness centers, movie theaters, some of the hardest hit businesses in Washington state will be able to return to 50% capacity.”
For Bistango, that means not only more customers rolling through. But now Reema Shaver can bring back another one of her employees, just one away from being fully staffed.
“The light has really been our community,” Shaver said. “Our hearts are so full that our community has responded to small business the way they have.”
The change will take effect for every county in the state on March 22, and Inslee said as long as Spokane County does not see 1,000 new COVID-19 cases over a two-week period, and has less than 25 hospitalizations every week, restaurants like Bistango will continue to work towards opening at full capacity.
