Last month I reported that restaurants in Chinatown were experiencing a dramatic decline in business due to fears of the coronavirus. Several days ago, AppleEats received a heads-up from Voro, a healthcare community, advising that dining traffic through all of the city’s restaurant sectors was down by 69%.
Late last night, we learned that the other shoe had dropped. The New York Times announced “a sweeping shutdown of [the city’s] tens of thousands of bars and restaurants … in an effort to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will close its bars and restaurants, except for delivery and pickup services, leaving waiters, bartenders and baristas uncertain about their next paycheck. [Emphasis added]
These are rough times for us foodies as well as the restaurants that serve us. But we can help our favorite food establishments by focusing on the highlighted part of above quote. One step you can take is to order in. Food delivery services such as Seamless and Grub-Hub are still making the rounds.
If you’re worried about making contact with the delivery person, you can arrange to have the food dropped off outside your apartment door.
Also consider buying gift cards to restaurants to be used in the future.
By developing a symbiotic relationship with your favorite neighborhood haunts, we can weather this storm together.
Keep safe.
See also…
In Wake of Coronavirus Panic, Business at Chinatown Restaurants Down 70%
