New York City restaurants restart indoor dining with fingers crossed
'Economically, it's a disaster,' chef Daniel Boulud tells Fox Business Network
New York City restaurants have been officially cleared to resume indoor dining as of Wednesday, with capacity limited to 25% of normal.
But eatery owners across the city are crossing their fingers that a second coronavirus wave won’t shut business back down.
Chef Daniel Boulud, the owner of French restaurant Daniel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, told Fox Business Network's Kristina Partsinevelos that his restaurant is in survival mode.
“Little by little, we’ve reopened the restaurant, bringing in more staff,” he said. “But economically, it’s a disaster. And it’s not only a disaster for me, it’s a disaster for any small businesses.”
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Daniel has attempted to get creative with the reopening of its dining room by filling the required six feet of distance between tables with physical buffers like shrubbery. It has also partnered with brands such as Evian water and Lavazza coffee for support.
According to OpenTable, the number of seated diners across the U.S. had decreased by more than half from last year.