The money and goodwill extended to restaurants early in the pandemic are drying up.
Independent restaurant owners say that lifelines extended by landlords, banks and vendors when the pandemic first hit the U.S. are ending, while federal loans made as part of pandemic-related stimulus programs are long gone.
The bleak financial picture means that many more restaurants could close in the coming months, adding to the tens of thousands of restaurants that have already shut during the pandemic.
The timing couldn’t be worse. More states and localities have ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms again to curb the virus’s spread, with New York City among the latest to suspend indoor service earlier this month. Outdoor patios that helped carry restaurants through warmer months aren’t popular in much of the U.S. now, and landlords and suppliers who extended help earlier in the pandemic face challenges of their own after months of customers falling behind.