RESTAURANT APOCALYPSE: More than 110,000 restaurants expect to close up forever in the coming weeks,

[marmar]

(Business Insider) The fate of the restaurant industry is uncertain as the coronavirus outbreak keeps customers home and forces the closure of thousands of locations.

The impact has already been devastating across the industry.

11% of the more than 4,000 restaurant owners and operators surveyed by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) last week said that they anticipate they will permanently close within the next 30 days. 3% said that they had already permanently closed their doors.

If these figures are applied to the more than one million restaurants that the NRA estimates exist across America, that would mean 30,000 restaurants are already gone. Roughly 110,000 more are expected to go the same way within the month, based on these calculations. ........(more)

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-restaurant-industry-faces-down-apocalypse-2020-3

[SheltieLover]

1. Heartbreaking

[Sherman A1]

2. It isn't going to be pretty

In the restaurant business or for many brick and mortar retailers.

[MFM008]

3. Were lucky

My brother cooks for a small Italian restaurant.
He was originally laid off
Then they called him back in to fix meals
For truckers.
Hes been working even more than before.

[Cha]

8. Good on your briother feeding the Truckers..

We know they're on the front lines for us.

[bluedye33139]

4. A local restaurant has closed forever

They left the staff go, and they announced that they would never open again. They were on the brink and the owner realized he would never be able to get the business running again.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. In Our Town Of 6k...

...we've got 8 sit down joints. 3 are ready made for take out only, & is probably already over half their business.
Of the other 5, 2 are open for carryout with limited hours.
The other 3 are shuttered. I can see at least 1 never reopening. The other 2 are extremely profitable and the owners can probably ride this out.
So, I'm guessing 1 out of 8. Pretty much the same as what's reported here.

[tavernier]

6. I ordered three pricey to go meals yesterday

from a local restaurant. The portions were large and I wrapped up lots of individual servings for the freezer. Most of our local places are still open for take out and locals are supporting them.

I think it’s way safer than the grocery store where some people continue to take their entire families.

[Demovictory9]

7. I try to support restaurants but so much of my business with them was on the way or from work

now that i work at home, less purchases. multiplied by millions.

even the fast food drive ins must be hurting. McDonalds had long lines in the morning from people on the way to work stopping for coffee and mcmuffin,

also ...work lunches with co-workers or catered lunches... they aren't happening anymore.

restaurant business is strongly tied to physically going to work.

[gibraltar72]

9. One of my fears

I'm rural but in cities where Mom and Pop restaurants are the cement that holds things together. Something we may never get back.

[Roland99]

10. But, guess what? Sometime soon someone will buy them and reopen them

We can’t reopen a life that’s been lost due to the disease, tho

That’s why I say fuck wall st and hedge funds. Companies will be revived, perhaps with different owners but they will come back

People can’t come back

These are beyond extraordinary times that have been worsened due to lack of leadership and action early on. Things won’t be the same. They may look that way on the surface but things won’t be the same

[Victor_c3]

11. My parents have owned and ran a restaurant my entire life

My father is the only cook and my mother is the only full time waitress.

They’ve long paid off the mortgage on their place and the own a small rental property next door. They’re going to be alright with the slowdown. Unfortunately, the 5 employees they have will not be OK. Over the last few weeks, a busy night for them has turned into 10 or more to-go orders. With that type of low volume, they can barely break even, and certainly not afford to pay any employees.

[durablend]

12. I think their numbers are low

We'll be lucky if 50% of businesses don't permanently go away.

[Cicada]

13. New restaurants will thrive I guess

There will be huge opportunities for the reboot of the economy. People delay solar panels now so demand will be high when we come back. Divorce lawyers suffer now but will be flooded next year. Oil companies are going broke so oil supply will be low on the reboot. Oil prices will go sky high. Thinking ahead might be profitable.

[colsohlibgal]

14. Changes In The Landscape For Sure

When we get past this we will end up in a different place......hopefully with a new competent President there or about to be there. Had his happened with about any other President we had we would be in a different place than where we are now......that idiot was briefed in January about this.....and I hope he is held liable for that....he has unnecessary blood on his hands.

[customerserviceguy]

15. Even in the best of times

it's a tough business to stay successful in.

Either one of two things will happen, once this is over with, a lot of people will decide that they hated having to cook for themselves during lockdown, or a lot of people will discover they like cooking, and won't feel the need to go out as much as they did.

[MurrayDelph]

16. We lost a buttload opening (and closing)

a deli in a town without enough Jews.

On the plus side, e have an abundance of gloves.

[customerserviceguy]

18. I recall

some forty years ago, somebody opened up a Philly cheesesteak restaurant in a town about an hour north of Seattle. It didn't do well, either. There's a lot of people who crave some food from the place they came from, and make the assumption that folks in their new home town will go wild for it, too.

[Totally Tunsie]

17. Use up any restaurant gift cards now while you can still get take-out.

They'll soon be worthless.

This is why I cringed each time I heard some pious celeb or whomever suggesting we all go out and buy gift cards in support of our favorite restaurants to provide cash for them and tide them over. Might as well just insert those cards into the shredder if you can't use them quickly.

[customerserviceguy]

19. Agreed

Maybe a national chain would be an exception to that rule. But I don't prefer to eat at most of them, Outback is an exception.