Beginning tomorrow, New York’s already beleaguered restaurants will take another hit in the name of COVID-19 as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s second ordered closure on indoor dining takes effect. As if to further infuriate an already impatient dining public and restaurant professionals, the governor accompanied his announcement with data that show that restaurants and bars are likely not the primary driver of new cases in the state, lagging far behind private gatherings.
Meantime, across the Atlantic, chefs and restaurant owners in Portugal are dealing with their own frustrations over government-imposed restrictions on hours of operation by going on strike — a hunger strike, that is. FineDining Lovers reports that earlier this month nearly a dozen chefs, restaurant owners, and entertainment professionals congregated in front of the nation’s Parliament to announce their week-long strike in reaction to what they called “ridiculous and surreal” rules on their business establishments.
Chef Ljubomir Stanisic, who hosts the Portuguese answer to Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares,” is quoted as saying, “It is not just restaurants that are suffering deeply from this situation. We have people from bars, clubs, all the hospitality industry is here.”
The move was not without impact. The Portuguese government responded by opening applications for federal aid to struggling restaurants and bars.
