Restaurant Owner — State Rep — Tells Lamont To 'Open Up' Eateries

TRUMBULL, CT — State Rep. Dave Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, who owns seven restaurants in the region, had a blunt message for Gov. Ned Lamont after the governor informed residents that bars and restaurants would have to remain closed at least until May 20 and he conceded it's possible that timeframe may need to be extended.

"“@GovNedLamont its time to open up, (this) is crazy,” he wrote in response to Lamont, as reported by Hearst Connecticut.

In an interview with Hearst, Rutigliano expanded on his tweet response to the governor saying he doesn't believe restaurants should reopen right now but he said it would have made more sense to reexamine the issue on April 30 as opposed to moving the ban to May 20.

Rutigliano has since deleted his tweet response to Lamont. Bars and restaurants are allowed to remain open for takeout and delivery but many eateries have decided to close until the pandemic wanes.

Rutigliano's restaurants are available for takeout and delivery but he had to temporarily layoff 300 people, Hearst Connecticut reports. He said revenue is down 90 percent at some of his eateries.

>>>Read the full Hearst CT story here.