As 2020 reaches a close, restaurants are in a perilous place. The current indoor dining ban in Washington has several more days to go until Jan. 4 and a potential return to limited dine-in seating. Takeout-only sales, paired with limited outdoor seating in the heart of winter, have not been enough for the majority of local, independent eateries to make it out of the red after nine months of pandemic-hindered activity. The list of restaurants in the Inland Northwest that permanently closed this year in connection with the pandemic is likely to grow, and already includes Geno's Pub, Paper & Cup, Fleur de Sel Creperie, Tomato Street in River Park Square (the North Side location remains open), River Rock Taphouse and Cheap Shots bar.