December 9, New York: The spread of the coronavirus, millions of Americans have been terribly hit. Countless have been out of work for months at a stretch. Among all the industries, tourism and, food and beverages have been the worst affected, especially owing to the al distancing measures. Hence, the full-service restaurants got a huge blow in this situation.
American Full-Service Restaurants: An Analysis
According to the latest report, around 17 per cent of America’s restaurants have shut down permanently since the announcement of lockdown measures in March this year and thousands more are on the verge of meeting with the same fate. A survey conducted by Yelp, an online crowd-sourcing provider, reveals that there has been an increase in the permanent closure of restaurants across the country since April this year. Between June and July 2020, thousands of restaurants and food chains wrapped up businesses permanently owing to the pandemic—which as a whopping 23 per cent increase, within a span of merely 30 days.
The National Restaurant Association, in an effort to deal with the difficult circumstances, is pleading with Congress to introduce new incentives or stimulus, to assist the industry that has been almost ravaged due to the deadly virus. The group on Monday stated that more restaurants across the country, in fact as many as 10,000 eating joints could completely shut down in the coming three weeks in addition to 110,000 that have already stopped functioning.
A few days ago, the group conducted a survey across 6,000 restaurants, the results of, which were released recently. The survey revealed that 87 per cent of full-service restaurants informed an average 36 per cent dip in revenue while 83 per cent assumes sales to be even worse in the coming three months as COVID positive cases continue to sweep across the United States.
Sean Kennedy’s Remark
Commenting on the latest developments on the front, Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of the group said, it’s been too long and the restaurant industry cannot wait any further for reliefs. He feels that a “true compromise” between the two powers – Democrat and Republican proposals and genuinely hopes for a bigger relief package the next year under the Biden-Harris administration.
It’s rather evident that the full-service restaurants have not only been badly hit but also accounts for a real slow bounce back. However, as the new government is all set to take over, the industry remains hopeful about the implementation of the promised measures. Till then, all will have to wait with bated breath.
