Predictions of the future can, by their nature, be tricky. During a completely unprecedented time in our city’s history they can become even more so. The restaurant industry’s brightest minds have weighed in on what the future of dining might look like once we begin to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the main takeaway so far is that it’s uncertain. We’ve gathered up some of these articles here, in the hopes that consolidation may begin to provide a clearer picture. 

To us, despite the obvious uncertainty currently plaguing an industry we love, the main thing that we are sure of is that the passion of restaurant workers is unrivaled. The people who work in restaurants are driven by this passion and desire in a way that allows for extreme, perhaps irrational, hope. 

 

Operations

Temperature checks, like this one at Sushi Katsui, may become commonplace. Image courtesy of Eater.

14 industry experts predict the future of dining out, including the possibility of temperature checks and completely offsite prep work. (Eater)

Owners ask whether or not being able to reopen will be enough, questioning what exactly will need to be done to rebuild. (Grub Street)

A look into the future through the lens of Queens’ Chinatown proves to be bleaker than expected, visitors find. (Mother Jones)

 

Politics

In Queens’ Chinatown, businesses were hit by the virus particularly hard. Image courtesy of Mother Jones.

A more political description of the grim future of New York’s once bustling restaurant scene, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Patch)

A look at legislation designed to help restaurants, alongside the numerous possibilities for the future. (ABC 7 NY)

 

Industry Experts

Chef Sohui Kim, center, expects huge changes at her restaurants. Image courtesy of Brooklyn Based.

Gabrielle Hamilton, the restaurateur behind Manhattan’s beloved Prune, reflects on the harsh realities of running a New York City restaurant pre-COVID, and how this health crisis has given her space to reflect on whether her original vision still aligns with the New York of the future. (The New York Times)

Restaurateurs question reopening and the scale of the crisis from a more purely business perspective. (Bisnow)

Deven DeMarco ruminates on the struggles of getting by, and what might be to come in a perspective from a lifelong industry employee. (Grub Street)

Chef and owner Sohui Kim, of Insa, The Good Fork, and Gage and Tollner, predicts the future and worries about capacity limits for her larger restaurants. (Brooklyn Based).