When the pandemic hit America’s restaurants, it was as if an anvil dropped — on a bubble. Every day is a negotiation: of labor costs, food costs, rent, insurance, health inspections, and the art and craft of creating an experience special enough to keep people coming through the doors. The restaurant and fast food industry, the second-largest private employer in the United States, collapsed overnight. Technomic, a consulting firm for the food-service industry, estimates that 20 percent to 25 percent of independently owned restaurants will never reopen. And those restaurants uphold an ecosystem that extends to farms, fishmongers, florists, ceramists, wineries and more.

Source: New York Times September 10, 2020 09:00 UTC