John Stratidis does a lot of running around at The Famous Cozy Soup and Burger, the diner his dad and uncle first opened nearly 50 years ago on Broadway in Greenwich Village.

Stratidis said they are prepared for 75% capacity and full capacity indoors at the restaurant, with plenty of Plexiglas dividers between booths and air purifiers. What Stratidis said he really needs to boost business are more customers.

"We need the people to start coming back, the tourists to start coming back, very important for NYU to come back because when all that comes back, it's a whole different kind of ballgame," Stratidis said.

He said he has been able to bring more staff back as indoor capacity increased in past months, but he's still doing multiple jobs to keep the place running.

"Whatever is meant to be is meant to be, but I can guarantee you that I will continue to fight and that things are going to get better," Stratidis said.

Darcie Siciliano owns the East Harlem Bottling Company on 107th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem with her husband Leo. She said they may not be able to add many more tables inside, but increasing their capacity is a welcome development.

"I don't know with our space that will really allow us to put in too many more chairs, but it will just be great to see more people, and I think people feel more comfortable knowing that the city is a place where we can have higher capacity," Siciliano said.

"We are just looking forward to people coming back," she added.