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When the Coronavirus first came to America it completely turned our world upside down. Our former president declared the coronavirus to be a national emergency, and everyone stayed indoors to stay safe from this deadly disease. Covid-19 first hit America in late January 2020, and we are still currently struggling to get back to normal in April of 2022. This padlet is primarily focused on how this pandemic affected the restaurant industry in the United States and how restaurant owners are fighting to keep their businesses afloat.

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Covid-19 has led to many issues within the restaurant industry. Restaurant owners are panicking, supply chains are breaking down, and staff members are overworked. In 2021 more than 10% of restaurants have closed down due to the pandemic and in 2022 more restaurants are soon to follow.

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See in this video how a beloved local restaurant in New York was forced to close due to the recent pandemic. (start at 1:50)

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How COVID Is Destroying the Restaurant Industry

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“Times have been challenging for the restaurant and foodservice industry. From worker shortages to complete shutdown, it has been a time of upheaval for many food service operators. And in many markets, the variables and factors driving up prices seem overwhelming. There is no doubt that the economic reopening in the US has been bumpy and uncertain. Inventories are depleted; causing big restocking orders as well as putting premiums on short-term deliveries of various raw materials.” (Forbes).

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“Times have been challenging for the restaurant and foodservice industry. From worker shortages to complete shutdown, it has been a time of upheaval for many food service operators. And in many markets, the variables and factors driving up prices seem overwhelming. There is no doubt that the economic reopening in the US has been bumpy and uncertain. Inventories are depleted; causing big restocking orders as well as putting premiums on short-term deliveries of various raw materials.” (Forbes).

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Owning a restaurant during the pandemic is certainly a challenge!

The current difficulties of running a restaurant:

High food costs

Lack of employment

Supply chain issues.

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Prices are Overwhelming Restaurant Owners

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Prices are Overwhelming Restaurant Owners

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Over the past two years the cost of everything has skyrocketed. In December 2021 CNN reported that “Grocery prices are also at record highs: They jumped 6.4%, the largest 12-month increase since December 2008… The sharp increases underscore the fact that restaurants and food makers are not immune to supply chain and labor pressures contributing to pricing increases across the board.” And  “The hikes in food are part of a trend of increasing prices overall. Consumer price inflation, which includes gas prices and other categories, rose by 6.8% in the 12-month period ending in November hitting its highest level in 39 years.” (CNN BUSINESS). These high food and labor costs are forcing restaurant owners to raise their prices which results in upset customers and less business to profit on.

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Restaurants that are unable to find enough workers are being forced to limit their hours or even shut down. This is causing a lot of stress and tension between restaurant owners and staff.

Understaffed restaurant workers are:

overworked

forced to deal with angry customers

mistreated by management

stressed out

“Restaurant employees across North Jersey said they are struggling to compensate for the labor shortage, experiencing increased levels of stress and anxiety because of it,” (NorthJersey.com).

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Restaurants are having trouble keeping their suppliers in line.

Not enough drivers to deliver goods

Delivery trucks are showing up late

Restaurants are forced to order more/less products than wanted

The cost of products and deliveries are rising

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Many restaurants tried their very hardest to stay open during the pandemic. One attempt a lot of restaurants tried was outdoor dining, which was great for warm weather, but for the cold seasons not so much. Another attempt was online and over-the-phone deliveries. People have grown accustomed to online food delivery services like door dash, uber eats, post mates, etc.

While this helps restaurants stay open, it is pretty costly.

Additional Costs

delivery cars

to-go containers

fees paid toward online eating services

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Restaurants See Online Delivery Services as "Highway Robbery"

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Restaurants See Online Delivery Services as "Highway Robbery"

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See how restaurants are struggling to swallow the additional fees online delivery services are charging.

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Nassau County Aims To Cap Food Delivery Service Fees As Restaurants Continue To Struggle

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Now that we're 2 years in the pandemic, most of us have returned back to civilization. At home quarantines are over. Mask mandates are gone and there are plenty of vaccines to go around.

Many restaurants have gone back to seating full-capacity. Once people start going back to work and supply chains can start working properly, it will be a lot easier for restaurants to run smoothly. There is a lot of hope that the restaurant industry will recover soon!

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Overall, the restaurant industry took a big hit when the pandemic came to America. Many restaurants didn't have the funds or customers to stay open. There were so many problems Covid-19 brought to restaurant owners. They were challenged with the costs of good rising, understaffing, and supply chain issues. The people that were able to keep their restaurant open during the pandemic are very fortunate and are the reason why this amazing industry is still alive. The restaurant industry is slowy getting back to normal and hopefully soon more people will go out and support our restaurant industry!

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CBS New York. “Nassau County Aims To Cap Food Delivery Service Fees As Restaurants Continue To Struggle.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/?gl=ES.

How Covid Is Destroying the Restaurant Industry - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyBSGdwIIoA.

Langer, Jessica. “Labor Shortage Is Stressing out NJ Restaurant Employees. and It May Be Causing More to Quit.” North Jersey Media Group, NorthJersey.com, 5 Aug. 2021, https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2021/08/05/nj-restaurants-hiring-but-labor-shortage-leaving-employees-stressed/8057823002/.

Occhiogrosso, Gary. “How Supply Chain Issues Continue to Impact the Restaurant Industry.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/garyocchiogrosso/2022/02/14/continued-supply-chain-issues-in-the-restaurant-industry/?sh=548091f35bbd.

Wiener-Bronner, Danielle. “Food Is More Expensive than It Has Been in Decades.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Dec. 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/11/business/grocery-restaurant-prices/index.html.

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Learn More About How Covid-19 Affected The Restaurant Industry 

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Learn More About How Covid-19 Affected The Restaurant Industry 

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If you want to learn some more check these websites out!

https://time.com/6129713/restaurants-closing-covid-19/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/09/how-restaurant-industry-workers-are-navigating-covid-19.html

https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/datassential-more-10-us-restaurants-have-closed-permanently

https://fortune.com/2021/01/26/restaurants-bars-closed-2020-jobs-lost-how-many-have-closed-us-covid-pandemic-stimulus-unemployment/

https://restaurant.org/education-and-resources/resource-library/rising-food-costs-and-supply-chain-issues-are-creating-challenges/