#SaveSmallBusiness: 50% of Americans Say 'Restaurant They Loved Has Gone Out of Business Due to...Pandemic,' According to Survey

Nick Kangadis | February 26, 2021
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Not trying to downplay any loss of life, but one might wonder whether we’ll eventually see a counter on CNN that also displays that number of small businesses that have been killed because of the Chinese coronavirus. The media downplays the economic impact of COVID now that their preferred regime is now in power, but Americans clearly see the carnage that the draconian COVID measures taken by government have left in their wake.

According to a new survey by LendingTree, “half of Americans said a restaurant they loved has gone out of business due to the coronavirus pandemic.” 

LendingTree reported the following “Key findings”:

  • Half of Americans said a restaurant they loved has gone out of business due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shuttered eateries were even more prominent in the Northeast, where 65% of respondents said the same.
  • Seven in 10 Americans have dined indoors at least once during the coronavirus pandemic. Those most likely to dine indoors include Gen Z (83%), six-figure earners (82%) and those living in the South (75%).
  • Nearly 60% of consumers have become big tippers, including at restaurants (28%), for food delivery (26%) and/or for takeout (17%). However, 23% said they did not tip at all the last time they picked up takeout from a restaurant, and 10% didn’t tip the last time they ordered food delivery.
  • Many consumers dine out with strings attached. For example, 25% will only dine out with those in their immediate household, and 20% will only visit a restaurant if they can sit outdoors. And, they take safety protocols seriously: 41% said they’ve left a restaurant because it was overcrowded or people weren’t wearing masks.
  • A third of consumers said their stance on dining out during the pandemic has caused tension with friends or family.

Personally, I can tell you that the only time since all of this ‘shut everything down’ crap began, the only time in the last year that I’ve dined indoors was in Florida. I haven’t once been able to eat indoors at a restaurant in the Washington D.C. area.

Chief credit analyst for LendingTree Matt Schulz said that the restaurant business has taken the brunt of the blows from COVID.

“The pandemic has been an absolute catastrophe for the restaurant business,” Schulz said. “So many have closed and so many more are teetering on the edge and will likely continue to until we see a major decrease in COVID-19 cases and these restaurants are open to their full capacity. That’s likely not happening anytime soon.”

Or maybe the rest of the country could stop being such germaphobes and dine the way Florida does? You wear your mask when you walk into the establishment, and when you’re seated you may remove your mask. A lot of the booth seating has some kind of glass separating each table, which is kind of dumb considering there’s nothing separating your table from the tables to either side of you laterally except a few feet of space.

The result of that? The restaurants are full all the time during lunch and dinner.

Bloomberg reported last December that "more than 110,000 restaurants have closed permanently or long-term across the country" during the pandemic.

#SaveSmallBusiness

H/T: Fox Business

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