March 17, 2020, will be a day restaurant owners in North Carolina won t soon forget.
That was the day Gov. Roy Cooper announced that as of 5 p.m. that day, restaurants and bars across the state must close their doors to dine-in customers and switch exclusively to takeout and delivery due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Some restaurants around Fayetteville, already built to accommodate these unprecedented changes, saw sales increase. But for many, it was like their business fell off a cliff.
Restaurants had to totally change their business models, pivoting to offering groceries, online cooking classes and other ways to serve their customers while struggling to stay afloat. Many restaurants closed some permanently.