Diners stay warm outside at Mountain Tap Brewery as restaurants get creative with the outdoor-only dining restrictions. (Photo by Kari Dequine Harden)
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — With the onset of colder weather, tightening restrictions due to COVID-19 and no help from the federal government since the spring, the restaurant industry is in peril.
According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 110,000 restaurants nationwide have closed due to the pandemic, and a list of restaurants in the Denver Metro area reveals more than 100 have closed permanently and about 70 temporarily.
“That’s coming here too,” said Patrick Groves, owner of The Tap House in Steamboat Springs. “I don’t think people fully realize just how serious the situation is.”