Suddenly, reports of hate crimes against those of Asian and Pacific Islander backgrounds skyrocketed.
My friend Shirley's restaurant was repeatedly vandalized with hate graffiti, prompting her husband to spend a great deal of money on security cameras and taking other security measures.
In one particular case, a man stole a large DoorDash food order, yelled racial slurs and threatened to harm Jimmy before fleeing after a customer called the police.
To be sure, the restaurant industry, perhaps more than any other, has been devastated by the pandemic.
However, by the end of March 2020, more than half of Chinese restaurants, which might otherwise be perfectly suited to thrive in a "takeout only" environment, stopped transacting entirely. No other type of restaurant in this group even comes close, the credit card processing company Womply found.