Page 25 - BusinessWest January 6, 2021

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2021 >>
Restaurants
Owner of Large, Regional Group Says It’s Survival of the Fittest
Andy Yee was still slogging — his word, and he would use it more than a few times — through the holiday season when he talked with BusinessWest for this Outlook section. But he was already thinking about the next one and what it might be like.
And his thoughts were colored with optimism.
“I think there is going to be a lot of pent-up demand,” he said, referring to that day when
the clouds eventually lift and people feel con- fident returning to restaurants and especially indoor dining. “People have been cooped up a long time. I know people who haven’t been out, and have barely left their houses, since March. When this is over, people are going to be ready to get out and go on the town.”
While he feels confident in that assessment, and even offered a timeline of sorts — project- ing some improvement by spring as vaccines are rolled out, much more by summer, and perhaps something approximating normal by Q4, or cer- tainly next holiday season — what he doesn’t know is how many restaurateurs currently doing business in the region be along for that ride,
“
who haven’t been out, and have barely left their houses, since March. When this is over, people are going to be ready to get out and go on the town.”
People have been cooped up a long time. I know people
ANDY YEE
whenever it does come. Indeed, several have already been forced to
shut their doors, he said, and others will be chal- lenged to survive what will likely be another sev- eral months of slogging, even with the promise of additional help coming in the form of support from the state.
“January and February are traditionally leaner months — people have that holiday hangover, although I’m not sure what that will be like this year,” he noted. “It’s going to be hard for some people to hang on. There will be some casualties; there will be more closures.”
There have been several already, due directly
to COVID-19 or perhaps the pandemic accelerat- ing the timeline for retirement, said Yee, adding quickly that the number of additional losses to the landscape will be determined by a number of factors, from how quickly and effectively vaccines reach the general population to the level of con- fidence people have with going back out again, even with a vaccine, to the overall experience level and savvy of the restaurateurs in question.
“This really will be survival of the fittest,” he told BusinessWest, adding that his definition of ‘fit-
Restaurants
Continued on page 31
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