February 24, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has had a seismic impact on the restaurant industry over the past year: countless closings and hibernations, lost income and wages, continuous pivots, and a heightened emphasis on takeout and delivery, for starters.
But what about the physical restaurants themselves?
Before the pandemic, you might have found the interior of your favorite local eatery packed with tables and chairs, paper menus stacked by a host stand, and not a patio table in sight. Now, one section of a dining room might be cordoned off for takeout orders, while those who are dining in scroll through a menu on their phones. Outside, heat lamps glow by bistro tables on narrow, snowy sidewalks.