Establishments also saw a decline in bookings for the spring. Some nixed plans altogether while others asked for events to be postponed until the summer. Just days after the first reported COVID-19 case in Manhattan, hotels, catering companies, and large restaurants across the city saw cancellations of events or corporate parties. Early March 2020 - Mass event cancellations at NYC restaurants Chinese restaurants would continue to suffer disproportionately in the coming months due to a mix of vandalism and discrimination, but the initial hit to their sales was the first real indication of what was to come for the restaurant industry at large. government imposed on China, which led to a major drop in Chinese tourists, the second largest group of international travelers to the city. This was in large part due to xenophobia and the spread of misinformation related to the virus on top of travel restrictions the U.S. Long before a majority of the city’s restaurants saw a massive drop in business, restaurants located in NYC’s various Chinatowns were already experiencing a decline in sales. Late January 2020 - NYC’s Chinese restaurants take a hit Hwa Yuan was one of the many Chinese restaurants that took a hit early on Photo by Gary He As we head into an uncertain, but hopeful 2021, Eater is taking a look back at the year that changed everything for restaurants in NYC highlighting the biggest developments and most innovations from the year gone by. Restaurants continue to create elaborate outdoor dining setups now that NYC has permitted al fresco eating year round.īut winter has only started and things are likely to get a lot harder for NYC restaurants in the coming months before they get better once more people are vaccinated and warmer weather allows more people to eat outside. Some have significantly altered and expanded menus to become more takeout and delivery friendly - not to mention the advent of to-go cocktails - and others have created large retail components selling pantry staples like chile oils and bread.

Still, restaurants have reinvented themselves - often several times - within the last 10 months while facing one obstacle after another. Since the state-mandated shutdown in March this year, more than 1,000 NYC restaurants have permanently closed, countless restaurant staffers are still without jobs, and experts have predicted more than half of New York restaurants could close over the coming months due to the mix of cold weather and limited financial aid.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted an unimaginable toll on the restaurant industry.

Nyc lockdown 2020