Restaurants in Italy stay open defying govt restrictions

A group of Italian restaurant owners defied COVID-19 restrictions Friday evening and stayed open for business after the official 6 p.m. closing time.

One of the eateries that stayed open was the Loste Ria restaurant in Rome, where every seat was taken on Friday.

Armando Minotti, owner of the Loste Ria restaurant in Rome, said recent losses were making it impossible to provide for his children.

"For three weeks, I haven't been able to give a weekly allowance to my wife to fill the refrigerator so my kids can eat. We are done for," he said.

Minotti suggested the Italian government's financial aid for the hospitality industry wasn't enough.

"If the cops come in, and they surely will, we will let them in, we will accept the fine, but we are going to stay open and we won't close anymore. Because it is impossible to go on like this," he said.

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