A server delivers food to customers dining at a restaurant in Los Angeles on Aug. 7. Restaurants are boosting pay to attract workers, and that could have an impact on already-high inflation.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Smart Talk Road Trip to focus on restaurant recovery
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Scott LaMar/WITF
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
A server delivers food to customers dining at a restaurant in Los Angeles on Aug. 7. Restaurants are boosting pay to attract workers, and that could have an impact on already-high inflation.
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Airdate: Wednesday, January 26, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years has possibly had a greater impact on restaurants than any other industry.
During the first year of the pandemic in 2020, most restaurants were open for take-out only at first and then limited the number of customers who could dine indoors.
As more restrictions were lifted last year, restaurants made a comeback generating an estimated $789 billion in 2021 — $100 billion more than the year before. However, restaurants still had not reached 2019 pre-pandemic income levels.
The industry continues to face challenges like finding enough workers to fully staff a restaurant.
They’ve also undergone some changes in technology, takeout accommodations, menu prices and outdoor dining.
On Wednesday, Smart Talk makes a Road Trip to The Englewood/Englewood Brewing in Hershey to discuss the road to recovery for restaurants. Appearing on the program are John Longstreet, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, Englewood COO Bill DeVinney and Andre Young, owner of the Soul House Café in Harrisburg.
