Restaurant owner, chef, and HRN host Eli Sussman gives us an overview of the current state of US restaurants and the challenges they are facing. We look at the toll the pandemic has already taken on the hospitality industry, and the ways restaurant closures and high levels of unemployment have been enabled by government inaction. In the present moment we wonder to what extent pivoting one’s business model is a viable option for most restaurants. And as we gaze into the future we imagine what kinds of restaurants will survive, and which may be lost from the fabric of our communities. 

To support independent restaurants and restaurant workers, visit Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, Independent Restaurant Coalition, and ROAR New York (Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants. 

Subscribe to Eli’s podcast The Line wherever you get your podcasts. (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS).

Have a question you want answered? Email us at [email protected]

This project is funded in part by a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act. 

This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

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