The Stamford location of the Fortina restaurant chain is welcoming back patrons for sit-down dining with new reservation fees on its rooftop space.
The Harbor Point eatery is opening its patio for dining on a free first come-first served basis, but access to the rooftop will require a $35 per person reservation fee along with a $15 per person food and drink minimum plus tax and gratuity.
The rooftop dining space opened in 2016 as the Pizza Surf Club with a separate food and drink menu from the main restaurant. Fortina used its Instagram account to announce the access fees and defended its policy when social media followers expressed criticism of the plan.
“In order to keep the rooftop open, we need to make sure we”™re adhering to strict safety guidelines and are able to pay our employees a living wage,” the restaurant”™s management said on Instagram. “The $35 will make a small dent in what it takes to keep the restaurant open and pay our staff. We”™re trying to survive through all this and see y”™all on the other side.”
What a rip-off. Thanks for the tip. I will make sure that none of my employees give this place any business.
they got killed on social media, you should include those quotes
! Who cares about small business anyway , right dom? I hope everyone comes out great from this pandemic well and ok especially my fellow restauranteurs that have to deal with mean and demeaning folks like you everyday. You and Minkstan both make me sad. All we ever wanted to do was cook our food and create opportunities. Kills me to see how many folks out there love to stifle that. We did what we had to do to get over the hurdle of the massive undertaking involved with re opening a restaurant both LABOR and MONEY instead of raising prices when others did, we chose to impart the temporary fee to get us over the hurdle of making the entire 3 stories of fortina stamford functional again. The rooftop an area that normally can hold 120+ people legally now only has 2 seats and the bar is gone. The rooftop was the only area where a reservation could be made, patio seating downstairs was first come first serve. Just trying to survive here folks. The fee is no longer because we have been able to gain a tiny bit of momentum in the last week. I wish you all the best and bless you all xo