Even though the coronavirus pandemic has caused many places to close, because restaurants are considered essential businesses, they've been allowed to remain open for take-out and delivery. However, while everything from pizzerias to sushi bars can still be found serving food in most neighborhoods, the number of Chinese food restaurants operating during these difficult times are few and far between - including ones that never even offered dine-in options. So what's going on?
Well initially, some of the restaurants dealt with xenophobia, as customers falsely feared they might contract coronavirus by going to a Chinese food place because COVID-19 originated in China. However, that was only responsible for a small portion of closures. The bigger issue is that the Chinese food restaurants are struggling with shortages both on staff and on the supply chain.
Gothamist called dozens of Chinese takeout restaurants in New York City and of the 50+ they contacted, only one was taking orders on a Monday afternoon. The outlet discovered one of the biggest reasons for that is that very few employees are willing to work. Since a large amount of those workers live with older relatives, they are scared of contracting COVID-19 and passing it on to their family. They are also scared to commute to work because of the uptick in racial attacks.
Meanwhile, suppliers across the country have been dealing with similar issues. Many have significantly cut hours or shut down totally, so ingredients for the food the restaurants serve has become increasingly difficult to find. In fact, the trade magazine Restaurant Business recently reported that over half of the Chinese food restaurants in the country are currently closed.
Unfortunately, experts don't expect many of the restaurants to be able to weather the storm, and even with the small business relief programs instituted by the local and national governments, they predict that sadly, many of the eateries will never open again.
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