Chicken and mushroom crepes from Café Jardin. Seafood paella from Villa Roma. Chicken tikka masala from Adya. Duck breast and risotto from Terrace by Mix Mix. Wine country burger from Olea. Shrimp Dijon plus Brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup from Tavern House.
Yes, I’ve been dining well, thanks to the many restaurants in Orange County (more than 60 in Newport Beach, where I live) that have shifted their business model and now offer robust takeout menus.
That so many restaurants are open for business bodes well for the Orange County restaurant industry—or does it?
Despite encouraging news that restaurants are at least surviving—and occasionally thriving—during the coronavirus pandemic, predictions for the industry overall are gloomy.
More than 100,000 restaurants across the country were expected to have closed in April, according to estimates by the National Restaurant Association. The Association estimates that more than 8 million restaurant employees have been laid off or furloughed since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in March. This represents more than two-thirds of the 12 million employees that were working at the nation’s eating and drinking places in February. Overall, sales were down 78% on average.
Based on these results, the National Restaurant Association estimates that the restaurant and foodservice industry will have lost more than $50 billion in sales in April.
Combined with the estimated $30 billion in lost sales in March, the industry could see combined losses of $80 billion by the end of the April, and up to $240 billion by the end of the year.
Those startling numbers are echoed within the Orange County restaurant community. At a recent Newport Beach Restaurant Association board meeting, one board member predicted at least 25% of restaurants in the city will not reopen. That number could go as high as 30% to 50% throughout the county, some restaurateurs say.
And yet, myriad restaurants in our county are open for business and offering takeout and delivery. Some are pitching in and offering free meals to out-of-work restaurant employees, medical professionals at local hospitals on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle, and local charities who feed those in need.
The following is a look at some notable examples of what’s changing in the local dining scene.
