April 06, 2020

Stuck@Om with Matt Buchanan

45 minutes

In this episode of Stuck@Om my friend Matt Buchanan (Executive Editor at Eater.com) joins me for a conversation surrounding the restaurant industry. Matt points out that there are approximately 12 million jobs in the foodservice industry. Of the 10 million people who’ve now filed for unemployment — many were likely from this sector. Dining rooms across the country are forcefully emptied, leaving many restaurants closing their doors.

Matt believes that takeout and delivery aren’t sufficient to cover the overhead for most restaurants. If they don’t get the help they need, there won’t be a recognizable restaurant industry when we emerge from this pandemic. There may soon be a trickle-down effect as waiters, cooks, busboys, and delivery drivers are laid off. Will farmers be impacted due to a lack of demand? And what about the streak of racism becoming rampant as we see an immense drop in Chinese restaurants being frequented?

There will also be a long-term physical and psychological impact from the Coronavirus. Will people feel comfortable—even safe—returning to restaurants like they used to? We are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that feels surreal — how do we humanize the lives being lost if we aren’t directly impacted? These are just a few of the many topics that Matt and I talk about. Listen to hear our full conversation about the resounding economic impact the restaurant industry has in our culture.

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Outline of This Episode