Two Years Later: What the Hell Is Wrong With Austin Restaurant Customers?
We posted this during the earlier part of the COVID-19 crisis as Austin restaurants and customers were struggling with the new and unpleasant dining realities brought about by the pandemic. The question is: where are we now compared to back then? — Since local restaurants have been allowed to at least partially reopen, all in […]
Guest Post: The Pizza Cave’s Joe Cave on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF)
This editorial on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund by The Pizza Cave‘s owner Joe Cave is well worth your attention. It hits at the heart of the problems plaguing all owner-operated restaurants and the communities they serve. It’s about a three-minute read and worth every second. America is at a crossroads, one which was unforeseen just a […]
Austin Restaurants Finally Plow Through COVID-19 Crisis and Now Can’t Hire Anyone
I was talking to a restaurant owner several weeks ago. The conversation centered around an all too familiar subject – why Austin restaurants have been so short-staffed since early Fall. He told me he’d had difficulty hiring line cooks, servers, and various front-of-the-house positions. These shortages had often led to unplanned early closings and a […]
Will the Delta Variant Impact Indoor Dining in Austin?
Just when we all thought it was safe to get back in the water, so to speak, the raging Delta variant threatens to once again debilitate our local restaurants and their ability to provide indoor dining. The cruel irony of this surge is that it has struck just as some sense of normalcy has been […]
Greg Abbott’s 100% Solution for the Texas Economy: How Austin Restaurants Are Handling It
To say that the past year has been very challenging to Austin restaurants would be a massive understatement. For most it has been a daily struggle coping with health mandates, retaining staff, and operating with substantially reduced capacity. So in the wake of Governor Greg Abbot’s sudden and surprising announcement that businesses in Texas could […]
Abbot’s 100% Capacity Ruling Should Give a Much Needed Boost to Austin Area Restaurants, but Could Also Pose a Dilemma for Customers
Throughout the tragic year-long COVID pandemic, Austin area restaurants hamstrung by mandates implemented to halt the spread of the virus have taken a real financial beating. Closures have been rampant and the damage done to those still open is incalculable. Without question, Governor Greg Abbot’s recent decision to reopen Texas businesses at 100% capacity, controversial as it […]
Stricter COVID Protocols Make Things Increasingly Difficult for Restaurants in Austin and Across the Country
As hot spots of COVID cases confine to spread across the country, many of the nation’s local and neighborhood restaurants are teetering on the brink of closure and bankruptcy. Restaurants nationwide are struggling to make ends meet in the face of crippling restrictions often arbitrarily administered by public officials who are desperate to flatten the newest […]
Staten Island Bar and Restaurant Closure Sparks Giant Protest
A restaurant and bar called Mac’s Public House in Staten Island was recently closed because the owner openly defied coronavirus restrictions imposed by New York governor Andrew Cuomo. The general manager was taken away in handcuffs Tuesday night. The establishment is located in one of New York’s so-called orange zones where COVID-19 cases have spiked. The […]
Coping With the Pandemic: Restaurants and Those of Us Who Write About Them Face Uphill Battle
Let’s face it: the last ten months have been a brutal time for just about all of us, regardless of vocation. In the hospitality sector (which accounts for the largest amount of jobs in the Austin area by far) things have been horrible for both restaurants and customers alike struggling to cope with virtually weekly changes […]
Local Coffee Shops Face Huge Hurdles From COVID and High End Chains
Americans and Texans in particular have always loved their local coffee houses. Long a place where people could meet friends and family for a cup of joe and perhaps for a quick snack, these corner comfort zones are rapidly becoming an endangered species. As Americans tastes in coffees have drifted toward the higher end side […]
Austin Restaurants That Emphasize Safety and Maintain Quality
Amidst the highs and lows of dining in Austin over the past four months, a number of clear consumer concerns have emerged. Most restaurant patrons are very concerned about safety. But they also want to enjoy a good meal. However, as restaurants have reopened, the two concerns have not always coincided. Some restaurants suffered because while […]
Hope for Austin Restaurants: Customers Appear to Be Stepping Up on COVID Safety
Several weeks ago I posted an article blasting Austin restaurant customers for their lax attitudes and in many cases almost complete indifference to restaurant safety protocols. Since then based on what I hear from local restaurants things have started looking up. Of course this may be due to the dramatic spike in Austin COVID-19 cases […]
