ADAmid this pandemic summer, some restaurants have yet to reopen, still struggling to find a workable way forward with diminished capacity or takeout only. Heriford faced an agonizing choice — should she try to reopen Ladybird Diner as it was, and if so, what about the people she’s feeding — the newly destitute families who come shyly, pushing their masked kids to the front of the line? ADShe’s been a small-business owner and a fixture in this Midwestern town for years, but now the pandemic had changed everything. Each day at the diner had been a show, rough and imperfect but danced through with joy, with baby-kissing, laughter and high-fives. Continuing the food program without reopening the diner would set Heriford on a path of financial uncertainty.

Source: Washington Post September 15, 2020 11:06 UTC