LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — In Luzerne County, for many businesses that make a lot of money throwing huge New Year's Eve parties, those dollar signs disappeared long before this holiday's arrival.
Two well-known venues say because of the pandemic, ringing in the new year at their locations is going to be more accurately a silent night.
Inside Genetti Best Western Hotel in Wilkes-Barre, the floors and walls of the lobby as well as those in Oyster Restaurant were decked with boughs of holly and pretty much every other holiday decoration imaginable.
An employee of the restaurant says it takes days to get all these decorations up.
That's why it's depressing that most likely the only people to see the displays will be other hotel workers and whoever comes to pick up a Door Dash meal from Oyster.
Pam Palmer is Genetti's general manager and says every year they throw their New Year's Rocking Eve to celebrate the holiday but 2020's COVID-19 pandemic is again crashing yet another party.
"We always have a great big New Year's Eve party. People stay here, so the hotel is sold out,” said Palmer. “The party goes from 7 p.m. to 2 in the morning. We have a great grand breakfast for everyone after the New Year. This year nothing. We're just shut down.”
Aside from take-out dinners, Genetti is doing absolutely nothing to ring in the new year, and it's the same story over at The Woodlands Resort.
Ross Kornfeld is one of the co-owners and says what makes it even harder not having any parties here is that New Year's Eve is on a Thursday.
"We possibly could have had a three-day weekend, Thursday, Friday, Saturday sellout. People leaving Sunday. So that's huge,” said Kornfeld. “We would probably have 200 to 300 hundred people in the ballroom for a sit-down dinner. Maybe 500, 600 hundred people in Evolution, partying. So yes, all that is gone."
The Woodlands was also offering a take-out surf and turf dinner special to be picked up on New Year's Eve but requests for those dinners had to be in by the end of business Wednesday.
The only thing to do, both venues say, is to look to the future as a new year approaches.
"It's depressing but you have to push on and pray for a better next year,” said Palmer.
The Woodlands and Genetti Hotels encourage people to visit their websites for any upcoming events or specials as we hopefully return to a more normal life.
