Restaurants Learned the Wrong Pandemic Lessons
If you want a sign that Americans are done with the pandemic, you could rummage around for a poll. Such as this one, which suggests that 70 percent of the country thinks it’s time to “get on with our lives.” Or this, in which even more people say they’re burned-out by COVID-19. Or this. Or this. But really, here’s all you need to do: Go look inside your favorite restaurant.
Yes, the coronavirus is still killing nearly 2,000 people a day, and another variant is more a But the post-Omicron sigh of relief has been a godsend for the country’s beleaguered bars and restaurants. By some measures, Americans to be more comfortable eating out now than at any other time since March 2020. At various points in the past two weeks, reservations on OpenTable have even pre-pandemic levels. Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California, perhaps the country’s most famous fine-dining spot, last week that it would finally reopen its dining room after two years of hypercautiousness. At the same moment, blue cities such as New
