Undoubtedly, Covid-19 has impacted us in more ways than one. The pandemic has had detrimental effects not just on public health, but the economy, and that’s been felt hard but the food and beverage industry globally. The Dallas Morning News published an article on December 29th about some of the many heartbreaking restaurant closures in the Dallas area. In it they say:

“Like the ‘in memoriam’ tribute at the end of the Grammys each year, the list of restaurant closures in Dallas-Fort Worth is always bittersweet. But it’s more bitter than sweet in 2020, because the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of restaurants that might have otherwise survived. In early 2020, Crossroads Diner chef Tom Fleming didn’t anticipate he’d close his breakfast spot later in the year. But then he was hit with eight months of dismal sales due to the pandemic. ‘There’s not enough money coming through the door,’ he says. ‘That’s what it is: There’s just not enough.’ ”

          Likely, eating out hasn’t been the most pervasive thought that’s crossed your mind in 2020, so maybe you want a more comprehensive list of restaurant closures to check if your local favorites are still hanging in there. In that case, Culture Map Dallas released an article on December 28th containing a master list of Dallas restaurant closures. In it they say: 

“It’s a gloomy CultureMap tradition to do an annual list of restaurant closures although it’s usually framed as more as an homage to what came and went. But the 2020 version is more brutal than usual, since so many restaurants and bars closed due to COVID-19. Of all the fields to suffer during the virus, the food and beverage industry suffered the worst.”

           Here’s hoping that the restaurants that managed to survive 2020 fair much, much better in 2021.