If you’ve read any recent dispatches from states that have begun to reopen their economies, you might be under the impression that restaurants are quickly filling back up as diners cast away concerns about the coronavirus for the sake of a meal out. Here’s how the Washington Post,, recently described the packed scene at a luxury development in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
But these stories are also misleading, at least if you believe the real-time industry data that are available right now, which suggest that customers are only gradually returning to dining rooms. They also point to a long, gloomy slog ahead for restaurants, one that many probably won’t survive., which tracks how many people eat in every day at a sample of 20,000 establishments that use the booking platform.
So...does anybody really believe that prepared food in a restaurant is safe now?