Podcasts - US restaurants reopening for dining service

Restaurants across numerous U.S. states and cities were forced to halt their dine-in reopening plans amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Industry Intelligence Consumer Products Analyst Nevin Barich takes a “Deep Dive” into this issue: June 15: Seventy-five percent of US operators don't expect to turn a profit in the near future, according to National Restaurant Assn.; 55% of operators with temporarily closed restaurants say there’s not enough customers to justify reopening June 22: Maine Gov. Janet Mills announces that the state is postponing the reopening of indoor service at bars because of concerns about the higher risk of COVID-19 transmission in such settings June 26: Just 12% of US consumers plan to dine in a restaurant immediately as states reopen, survey says; 20% plan to do so within a few weeks while 68% plan to wait a month or longer June 26: Just 12% of US consumers plan to dine in a restaurant immediately as states reopen, survey says; 20% plan to do so within a few weeks while 68% plan to wait a month or longer June 30: Surge of new COVID-19 cases across the US prompting several states including Texas, North Carolina, Nevada and New Jersey to temporarily reverse or pause their restaurant reopening plans June 30: New Jersey governor halts plans to restart indoor dining on July 2 and postpones the move indefinitely, attributing change to finding some restaurants are overcrowded and many people not wearing masks, leading to concerns about rise in COVID-19 cases July 1: California, New York City among the US states and cities postponing or pulling back indoor dining rules amid rise in coronavirus cases; California requiring closure of indoor operations for three weeks at restaurants in 19 of the state’s 58 counties July 1: McDonald's halts its dining room reopenings in the US for the next three weeks, citing rise in coronavirus cases; the company has opened about 2,200 dining rooms July 2: Fifty-two percent of Americans say they would feel 'very uncomfortable' or 'somewhat uncomfortable' dining in a restaurant/bar over the next three months due to coronavirus pandemic, survey says