Covid-19 has forced many local Bay Area restaurants to close in the past years. In 2020, Tom Colicchio, a well-known celebrity chef, estimated that around seventy-five percent of restaurants would have to close due to the pandemic. Fortunately, the prediction has not come true. However, although the statistics seem to be positive, the restaurant scene has been going through numerous closures.
Usually, within a year, the number of restaurants that close and open are pretty similar. However, during Covid, the number of restaurants that have closed is double than those that opened. Closures have ranged from Michelin Star rated restaurants to city staples that have been open for decades, take Oakland’s Little Shin Shin for example, who had to shut down business due to the pandemic.
There are some main reasons that are leading to these rapid closures. Over the last couple of years, the most common cause was due to financial hardship, including inflation and a lack of staff and customers. It is crucial for people to support their local businesses in order to keep them alive and flourishing.