The
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
affects the global food industry as governments close down restaurants and bars to slow the spread of the virus. Across the world, restaurants' daily traffic dropped precipitously compared to the same period in 2019. Closures of restaurants caused a ripple effect among related industries such as food production, liquor, wine, and beer production, food and beverage shipping, fishing, and farming.
The issues were particularly disruptive in industrialized areas where large proportions of entire categories of food are typically imported using
just-in-time logistics.
In June 2020, the United Nations warned that the world was facing
the worst food crisis in half a century due to the
recession caused by the pandemic.
Global impact
![Paarl RSA COVID19 panic shopping](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Paarl_RSA_COVID19_panic_shopping.jpg)
Global food security expert Peter Alexander of the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
said that the free-market,
just-in-time logistical systems common in industrialized areas are very good at dealing with disruptions in one place or sudden
shortage
In economics, a shortage or excess demand is a situation in which the demand for a product or service exceeds its supply in a market. It is the opposite of an excess supply ( surplus).
Definitions
In a perfect market (one that matches a sim ...
s of one
commodity
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a comm ...
but are more vulnerable to
systemic shock
A systemic shock is a shock to any system that perturbs a system enough to drive it out of equilibrium. Systemic shocks occur in a wide range of fields, ranging from medicine (see shock), ecology, economics to engineering. Designers of systems ...
because there is no
slack in the system and no supply reserves to fall back on.
In many places there was panic buying with resulting shortages. There were some
supply chain
In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...
disruptions for some products; for instance, many hand pumps for hand sanitizer bottles are imported into the US from China and were in shorter supply.
For most food products in the US normal resupply happened, but
panic buying
Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...
causing empty shelves contributed to consumers' impulse to stock up and
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
.
A US food retail trade group advised retailers to accelerate ordering and consider
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
to prevent empty shelves.
Food retailers were "among the most affected by the coronavirus, but one of the few businesses that might actually benefit," at least in the short term according to the television channel
Cheddar. Some areas saw
price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or ...
.
Food traffic to restaurants and cafes declined by 75% in Latin America, where as North America and Middle East markets saw a decline of 90% by end of March. Later on, as demand for certain agricultural products fell due to lockdowns and closure of restaurants, farmers reported a
glut in supply, such as potatoes in the Netherlands and milk in the U.S. state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
.
Online grocery shopping has grown substantially during the pandemic. Small-scale farmers have been embracing digital technologies as a way to directly sell produce, and
community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture (CSA model) or cropsharing is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system closer by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. It is an altern ...
and direct-sell delivery systems are on the rise during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hazard controls
For retail workers in food and
grocery
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...
businesses, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...
have recommended specific COVID-19 hazard controls beyond general workplace recommendations. For employees, these include encouraging
touchless payment options and minimizing handling of cash and credit cards, placing cash on the counter rather than passing it directly by hand, and routinely disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as workstations, cash registers, payment terminals, door handles, tables, and countertops. Employers may place
sneeze guard
A sneeze guard, sneezeguard, or cough shield is an acrylic or glass screen designed to protect food or people from the exposure to respiratory droplets, which are dispensed when coughing, sneezing, or speaking. Sneeze guards have been in use in ...
s with a pass-through opening at the bottom of the barrier in checkout and customer service locations, use every other check-out lane, move the electronic payment terminal farther from the cashier, place visual cues such as floor decals to indicate where customers should stand during check out, provide remote shopping alternatives, and limit the maximum customer capacity at the door. Food workers experiencing clinical gastrointestinal or respiratory disease symptoms should not participate in food processing or preparation.
All types of food can potentially be contaminated though contact with any contaminated equipment, surfaces or environment. Proper cleaning and prevention of cross-contamination are critical in the control of foodborne illnesses. Once pathogens are deposited on surfaces by a previously contaminated product (cross-contamination), aerosols or touch from contaminated hands or clothing, they can survive on inanimate objects such as knives, saws, transport containers and conveyor belts made of metal, plastic and wood. Coronaviruses have been shown to remain infectious for up to nine days on such surfaces.
Good hygiene practices are particularly important when handling fresh foods that may be consumed raw and/or without any further processing. Examples include fresh fruits and vegetables and ready-to-use foods for consumption without further heat treatment. These can be particularly susceptible to contamination from the environment and food handlers. To minimize risk of exposure to any foodborne bacteria and viruses, it is important to keep food contact environments, equipment and tools clean, observe good handwashing practices, and separate raw and cooked foods and use clean water.
Impacts by country
Australia
In Melbourne, city officials announced a relief package for the
Queen Victoria Market
The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemi ...
.
According to Eater, petitions were circulating urging the state government to rescue the industry.
Brazil
On 23 March 2020, the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel) reported that more than 3 million workers could lose their jobs over the next 40 days.
Canada
![McDonaldsCurbsidePickupMarkhamTownSquare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/McDonaldsCurbsidePickupMarkhamTownSquare.jpg)
, 15% of the infections in Alberta – 358 cases – have been connected to the
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...
meat processing plant in High River. The outbreak itself has been linked to an employee of a long-term care facility who had close contact with an employee of the plant in their household. The plant was idled by Cargill on 20 April.
China
![Restaurant at PEK amid the COVID-19 pandemic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Restaurant_at_PEK_amid_the_COVID-19_pandemic.jpg)
Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's had closed restaurants in Wuhan or Hubei by 27 January.
Because the closings came just before the Lunar New Year celebrations, they came "at probably the worst time for China," according to Jude Blanchette, head of China studies at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
.
The Lunar New Year as of 2020 was considered China's single most important economic event, with 2019 spending of US$150 billion.
The service sector in 2020 represented 52% of China's economy.
By 24 March, Starbucks had reopened 95% of the 2000 restaurants that had closed, including some in Wuhan.
Starbucks announced it expected a $400 million or more in lowered revenues for the fiscal second quarter because of the China closures.
Before the outbreak, about 54 percent of survey respondents bought food and groceries from supermarkets. During the pandemic, the proportion of consumers choosing to purchase food from supermarkets dropped to 35%, and the proportion of products purchased from farmers' markets dropped sharply from 23% to 10%. In contrast, consumers buying food and groceries online rose to 38 percent from 11 percent.
France
According to Eater, "The whole French food chain may become less individual and more corporate as only big restaurant groups like Alain Ducasse and major industrial food producers survive."
Germany
Fast casual chain
Vapiano
Vapiano SE is a German restaurant franchise company headquartered in Cologne. The chain's restaurants offer Italian food adhering to the fast-casual principle. Vapiano was established in 2002 in Hamburg. announced 20 March that it was insolvent and might have to declare bankruptcy, asking the German government for help.
Hungary
According to Eater, restaurants in Budapest depend heavily on tourism, and will likely not survive.
India
On 23 March 2020, the National Restaurants Association of India asked the Finance Ministry for a bailout for the industry. The economic value of the industry is estimated at ₹4,238.65 billion.
Ireland
All bars and pubs were closed in Ireland by 15 March. On 22 March, it was announced that all
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
outlets in Ireland would be closed from 7 pm on 23 March. The day after the McDonald's announcement, coffeehouse chain
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England.
Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...
and restaurant franchise
Subway both announced they would shut their Irish outlets, as did doughnut company
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain.
Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans ch ...
regarding its one Irish outlet in Dublin. The Irish fast food restaurant chain
Supermac's
Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland. As of 2019, the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Irela ...
announced the same day as the Costa and Subway closures that it would shut all its restaurants by the evening of 26 March; it intended the delay to allow emergency services using its facilities time to plan where they would eat, but did say it would shut its seating areas that night. By August 2020,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
,
Supermac's
Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland. As of 2019, the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Irela ...
,
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England.
Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...
,
Subway and
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain.
Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans ch ...
reopened providing takeaway, delivery or drive thru services only.
As the third phase of the government's roadmap got underway on 29 June, all restaurants and cafés reopened serving on premises food and strict social distancing and cleaning measures in place. Pubs and bars reopened only if they served "substantial" meals of at least €9—according to the
Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
and
Fáilte Ireland
Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 and replaces and builds upon the functions ...
.
Indoor hospitality soon closed again in October after the government imposed a national six-week
lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
. On 4 December, thousands of restaurants, cafés and gastropubs reopened after six weeks of closure. On Christmas Eve, all restaurants, cafés and gastropubs closed again at 3 pm following the reimposition of lockdown restrictions until 12 January 2021 at the earliest, after a third wave of COVID-19 arrived in Ireland. Due to the repeated extension of the lockdown, they remained closed throughout the first five months of 2021.
Under the government's reopening plan throughout May and June 2021, all bars, restaurants and cafés reopened for outdoor service on 7 June, while indoor service remained closed. On 29 June, due to the rapidly increasing incidence of the
Delta variant
The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...
, the government announced that the planned reopening of indoor dining and drinking in restaurants and pubs on 5 July would be delayed. After further delays, the government eventually approved legislation for the resumption of indoor hospitality, with proofs of vaccination needed for those who were vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, while those under 18 would be required to be accompanied by a fully vaccinated person. On 21 July, it was confirmed that indoor dining in pubs and restaurants could resume on Monday 26 July for fully vaccinated and COVID-19 recovered people, after
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
signed the legislation underpinning new guidelines into law.
Italy
According to Eater, much of Italy's artisanal food production depends heavily on tourism, both directly and indirectly via restaurants, and may not survive.
In mid–July 2022,
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...
's Italian franchise EPizza SpA closed down all 29 of its stores. The company had declared bankruptcy in April 2022 after two years of declining sales caused by
lockdown restrictions and competition from local pizza chains and restaurants, which began using food delivery apps in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ().
The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2020, when t ...
.
Japan
in March 2020 was felt down into 0.7 which was worst value ever. , a
yakitori
is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves skewering the meat with , a type of skewer typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials. Afterwards, they are grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, th ...
-style
izakaya
An () is a type of informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a pub, a Spanish tapas bar, or an American saloon or tavern.
Etymology
The word entered the English la ...
chain, announced on 2 April that they would shut all 394 of their stores from 4 April to 6 May.
Doutor Coffee
Doutor Coffee (株式会社ドトールコーヒー) is a Japanese retail company that specializes in coffee roasting and coffee shop franchising. It was founded by Toriba Hiromichi.
Information
The company currently has over 900 locations in ...
shut all about 250 of their stores in seven
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
(Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka), which are issued
emergency declaration initially, from 8 April.
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
also shut all about 850 of their stores in seven prefectures from 9 April.
Tully's Coffee shut about 400 of their stores in seven prefectures and about 50 of their stores in six prefectures (Hokkaido, Ibarakim Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi and Kyoto), which are designated as , from 16 April to 6 May and from 23 April to 6 May respectively.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries may refer to:
* Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Cambodia)
* Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)
* Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Niue)
* Depar ...
asked people to drink milk more for reducing disposal of it.
According to website of Joyfull (ジョイフル) family restaurant chain, 200 restaurant were close from July 2020 in Japan, affective of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in nationwide from February 2020.
A western-style restaurant chain, Khtchen Jiro (キッチンジロー) officially confirmed reports on 3 September that 13 places were closing on 30 September, due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, according to the restaurant's website.
According to web site show for restaurant chain giant,
Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...
(すかいらーく) announced in 12 November 200 place closed from November 2020 to 2021, and
Izakaya
An () is a type of informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a pub, a Spanish tapas bar, or an American saloon or tavern.
Etymology
The word entered the English la ...
(Japanese style bar) restaurant chain,
Monterosa (モンテローザ), announced by web site on 15 January 61 places were closed on same day, both affective for COVID-19 pandemic on nationwide from March 2020.
Malaysia
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
temporary closed their dine-in restaurants on mid-March when
movement control order
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...
begun and their service were restricted to
takeaways only. Despite the partially relaxation of the movement control order which is known as
conditional movement control order effective 4 May which allows restaurants to accept dine-in, McDonald's refuse to provide dine-in in all their restaurants citing safety as their main priority and continue to offer takeaways until further notice.
Due to the
movement control order
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...
that was enforced since mid-March, many
restaurants
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...
, cafes, bakery and
convenient stores in Kuala Lumpur,
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
and
Muar were impacted by the pandemic which forces many business to become defunct or dissolved, and each affected stores were placing up the banner regarding the premises is for sale or rent, although some stores has been dissolved few days earlier prior to MCO lockdown. However, not all dissolved business placed up the banner yet as their rental contract has yet to be expired.
The dissolving of business was attributed to
lockdown and curfews which prevents many people from having dinner and supper in restaurants during night time,
which were exacerbate further by high rental fees and landlord's refusal to reduce the rental fees.
In
Subang Jaya
Subang Jaya is a city in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. It comprises the southern third district of Petaling. It consists of the neighbourhoods from SS12 to SS19, UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), Putra Heights, Batu Tiga as well as PJS7, PJS9 ...
,
bubble tea
Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; , ) is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially i ...
is one of the food industry that was worst hit by COVID-19 pandemic. According to the observation by
Malay Mail
The ''Malay Mail'' is a newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first published on 1 December 1896 when Kuala Lumpur was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the first daily newspaper to appear in the FMS. As of May 2014, ...
, reporter discovered that in SS15 area which is well known for bubble tea hence unofficially named "Bubble Tea Street"
or "Boba Street", 15 out of 20 bubble tea shops in that area were permanently closed.
While the closure of these bubble tea shops were attributed to their target demographic, mainly university students and young professionals, who are unable to study and work in that area during
movement control order
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...
lockdown that prevents many people from visiting their shops and was further exacerbated by the rising of rental price due to
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
caused by booming of bubble tea shops from
RM 3000 in 2014 to RM 12000 in May 2020 that causes many struggling business unable to pay rents during pandemic, however, when Malay Mail interviewed with anonymous quality control officer of an anonymous bubble tea company, he denied that pandemic impact is the real cause of decline of bubble tea shops as bubble tea shops is a food shops which food shops is a category that are allowed to operate during lockdown, but instead stating that lack of passion regarding managing their own bubble tea shops by owner is the main reason of decline of bubble tea shops.
Some
netizens
The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general. react the closure as predictable, with one said that the decline will continues despite the diseases has contained,
while others praised the closure as a hope to reduce
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
rates among Malaysian and considering bubble tea as non-essential business.
Although some restaurants survived the pandemic impact and has reopened for dine-in, however, it was also reported that many customers were continue to prefer either
queuing up for
takeaways or using
online food ordering
Online food ordering is the process of ordering food, for Food delivery, delivery or pickup, from a website or other application. The product can be either ready-to-eat food (e.g., direct from a home-kitchen, restaurant, or a virtual restaurant) o ...
system to deliver takeaways to home instead.
New Zealand
In New Zealand on 25 March 2020 butcher shops were declared non-essential businesses by the government. According to the 2017 version of the New Zealand Pandemic Plan, Retail Meat New Zealand and other organizations will coordinate with the government to maintain essential food supplies to point of sale.
Philippines
Select outlets of fast food and restaurant chains across Luzon remained operational during the
Luzon enhanced community quarantine. The outlets that remained open continue to accept take out and delivery orders. Food delivery services such as
GrabFood and FoodPanda temporarily halted but eventually resumed operations in Luzon during the quarantine period.
Sweden
According to Eater, in the restaurant industry in Sweden "there is a feeling of utter despair" but also high levels of camaraderie among restaurateurs, who are trying out new ideas in an attempt to survive.
Turkey
On 21 March, the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
announced that starting from midnight, restaurants, dining places and patisseries were to be closed to the public for dining in, and were only allowed to offer home delivery and take-away.
United Kingdom
UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
on 16 March recommended the public stay away from bars, clubs, and restaurants.
The restaurant industry is the UK's third-largest employer.
A relief package for workers was announced 20 March but funds would not be available until the end of April.
According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', restaurants "scrambled to reinvent themselves" by pivoting their business models to adapt to the realities of government restrictions.
Restaurants became "takeaways, bottle shops, delicatessens. Others
ereselling hampers, fresh meal-kits or offering cookery courses."
On 23 March,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and
KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
closed all restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
On 24 March,
Greggs
Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on t ...
announced that it would close all of its around 2,000 stores. This is despite having converted into a takeaway shop following the call for all restaurants and cafes to close.
Nearly half of the UK food supply is imported.
Multiple suppliers to restaurants switched to direct-to-consumer models.
United States
![Businesses closed in Portland because of Coronavirus16 13 59 290000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Businesses_closed_in_Portland_because_of_Coronavirus16_13_59_290000.jpeg)
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic impacted the US food industry via government closures, resulting in layoffs of workers and loss of income for restaurants and owners.
It impacted retail groceries with
panic buying
Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...
noted as early as 2 March in some areas.
The closures impacted the distribution for food and beverages. In early April, while grocery stores were experiencing shortages of dairy products, farmers whose main customers were in the food service supply chain were dumping their milk because of lack of demand.
According to Cornell dairy industry economist Christopher Wolf, "If you have a factory that was set up to produce sour cream to sell at Mexican restaurants, you can't just decide that tomorrow you're gonna produce ice cream and send it to the grocery store."
Meat processor
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually ...
temporarily ceased operations in April because many of its workers had contracted coronavirus, and it was expected that farmers would simply slaughter many animals without having anywhere to sell them as meat.
According to
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's
Yuki Noguchi, "Just about every restaurant nationwide has been hit hard at once, making this disaster unique."
Industry experts warned that many small businesses would not be able to recover from closures without help from the government.
Impact on the greater economy was as of 17 March expected to be large as Americans have in recent years spent more at restaurants than at grocery stores.
Lester Jones, chief economist of the
National Beer Wholesalers Association
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) is a trade association that represents the interests of more than 2,850 beer distributors throughout the United States before government and the public. In 2020, their political action committee was ...
, said "This is a very significant and traumatic event for the restaurants, bars, taverns and the industry in general."
Chris Swonger, CED of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said "The impact on our industry is going to be really, really difficult. It's going to be a real challenge economically for not only the distillers of the United States, but certainly small businesses, restaurants, and bars."
Sean Kennedy of the
National Restaurant Association
The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The associa ...
on 19 March called the closures a "perfect storm" for the industry, saying the three primary challenges for restaurateurs are short-term access to cash, medium and long-term access to credit, and tax relief when the closures are ended. An investor in two New York City restaurants told the New York Post:
The ''New York Times'' on 20 March reported that industry analysts were predicting that two-thirds of restaurants would not survive, and as many as 75% of independents. On 26 March 11 percent of restaurants anticipated permanently closing within the next 30 days.
The US restaurant industry was projected at $899 billion in sales for 2020 by the
National Restaurant Association
The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The associa ...
, the main trade association for the industry in the United States.
An estimated 99% of companies in the industry are family-owned small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
The industry as a whole as of February 2020 employed more than 15 million people, representing 10% of the workforce directly.
It is the nation's second largest private employer and the third largest employer overall.
It indirectly employed close to another 10% when dependent businesses such as food producers, trucking, and delivery services were factored in, according to Ohio restaurateur Britney Ruby Miller.
In Delaware and Massachusetts, one in ten workers is employed in the restaurant industry.
In North Carolina, 11% of workers are employed by the industry.
In Texas, 12% of workers were employed by the industry as of 2016.
''Forbes'' on 19 March estimated the job losses in the restaurant industry to be in the millions.
The National Restaurant Association estimated probable job losses to be five to seven million.
Industry experts on 18 March forecasted $225 billion in direct losses and a full economic impact of $675 billion because of additional revenues generated elsewhere in the economy when customers patronize restaurants.
In July,
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
announced the permanent closure of 800 stores as pandemic related closures impacted the chain's business revenues.
California Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza. The restaurant was started in 1985 by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax in Beverly Hills, California, United States. ...
filed for bankruptcy.
NPC International
NPC International was one of the largest restaurant franchisees and was one of the largest restaurant operators of any kind in the United States. NPC was the largest franchisee of both Pizza Hut and Wendy's, and owned more than 1,200 Pizza Hut lo ...
,
CEC Entertainment,
Le Pain Quotidien have also filed for bankruptcy.
Timeline
In a 28 February story about how restaurants could prepare for the possibility of a pandemic, ''Restaurant Business'' quoted Roslyn Stone, COO of a firm that provides crisis response for restaurants, who said "The prospect of a global pandemic has already put a spotlight on restaurants and the tendency for employees to come in sick. Though more chains have started giving employees sick time as the supply of labor has tightened, it's increasingly important for companies to change their culture to ensure employees aren't working while sick."
A 3 March story in ''Nation's Restaurant News'' characterized the industry as being braced for impact from the virus.
On Sunday, 15 March, Ohio Governor
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
and Ohio Health Department director
Amy Acton
Amy Leigh Acton (née Stearns; ) is an American physician and public-health researcher who served as the director of the Ohio Department of Health from 2019–2020. She played a leading role in Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earl ...
ordered the closure of all bars and restaurants to help slow the spread of the virus, saying the government "encouraged restaurants to offer carryout or delivery service, but they would not be allowed to have people congregating in the businesses."
DeWine said he'd made the decision "after being contacted by citizens around the state sharing photos and stories of crowded bars Saturday night, despite warnings of social distancing and the governor's edict limiting crowds to no larger than 100 people."
The city of Los Angeles closed all restaurants and bars later that evening and New York City announced all restaurants and bars would close by the following Tuesday, both cities also allowing exceptions for takeout and delivery.
The next day, Illinois, New Jersey, New York state, Connecticut, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington DC followed suit.
On 18 March, the National Restaurant Association asked the federal government to provide relief to restaurants and restaurant workers. By 21 March, at least 25 states had closed restaurants and bars. By 22 March, the number had risen to 38.
In other states, major cities had closed bars and restaurants to sit-down diners and limited to takeout orders and delivery.
Industry fallout and reactions
The partial rather than full closings of restaurants meant that the closings failed to trigger
business interruption insurance Business interruption insurance (also known as business income insurance) is a type of insurance that covers the loss of income that a business suffers after a disaster. The income loss covered may be due to disaster-related closing of the business ...
for many restaurants;
other policies had clauses excluding coverage in the case of epidemics, action by civil authority, or requiring restaurants to have physical damage to property. Many employees were laid off, and more employees lacked
sick leave
Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...
in the sector compared to similar sectors.
[Sick leave](_blank)
''National Bureau of Economic Research
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...
'' The ''New York Times'' characterized the closures as affecting "all strata of the industry, from the owners and their celebrity chefs to the waiters and waitresses, bar-backs and busboys, who effectively are facing layoffs and may be unable to pay their rent."
The virus has spread to hundreds of meat processing plants in the U.S., forcing some facilities to close, and causing tens of thousands of infections and dozens of deaths among meat processing workers.
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc., is an American pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia, in the United States, and an independent subsidiary of WH Group. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter ...
CEO Kenneth Sullivan said this created risks to the meat supply chain;
the company closed at least three plants because of workers with the virus.
Directory and review site
Yelp
Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San Fra ...
in July announced that 60% of US restaurants that closed down completely during the pandemic had marked those closures as permanent for a total of nearly 16,000 restaurants by 24 July.
Government response
Multiple state and local governments offered relief packages for workers and restaurants. US President Trump met via phone on 19 March with leaders of chain restaurant companies, but no independent franchises were included.
Participants included Domino's Pizza, McDonald's, Wendy's, Yum Brands and Darden Restaurants and representatives from the
International Franchise Association
The International Franchise Association (IFA) is a trade group focused on government and public relations efforts for the franchise industry. The association publishes data on franchise activity through a partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau a ...
and the
National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, grocery stores, and multi-level ma ...
.
In early May legislation was proposed in Congress to allow Americans to use
SNAP benefits
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...
at restaurants. Currently, food assistance benefits can only be used at restaurants if the state participates in the "Restaurant Meals Program". The proposed SNAP CARRY Act includes provisions to expand access to the restaurant program during emergencies like the pandemic.
On a wider scope, in 2021 the Quality Franchise Association published a report investigating the impacts of the pandemic on the UK franchising sector, with a survey on both franchisor and franchisee angles of business from a variety of sectors.
Shopping and spread of the coronavirus
![Publix announcement on May 14 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic in Florida](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Publix_announcement_on_May_14_2020_during_COVID-19_pandemic_in_Florida.jpg)
Individuals who have continued to shop during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic are at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19.
Amidst the pandemic, grocery stores and pharmacies continue to remain open and attract crowds of shoppers, thus creating the potential to further spread contagion.
Some stores and pharmacies have set restrictions on shoppers to encourage social distancing such as a limit on capacity, required masks for customers and employees, taking temperatures before entrance or not allowing children under 16 inside the buildings.
Sources
References
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The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...
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