It may be weeks until any restaurants can actually open its doors again, but as businesses in other cities start reopening, many in NYC have cautiously started to sketch out the future here.Eater rounded up predictions from NYC restaurant industry experts. These 14 industry representatives are responsible for advising hundreds of restaurants: One recommends new sanitation strategies, while another helps high-profile restaurant groups retool their executive teams. Some invest in fast-casual chains like Sweetgreen, and others represent the city’s independent restaurants and bars in...…It may be weeks until any restaurants can actually open its doors again, but as businesses in other cities start reopening, many in NYC have cautiously started to sketch out the future here.Eater rounded up predictions from NYC restaurant industry experts. These 14 industry representatives are responsible for advising hundreds of restaurants: One recommends new sanitation strategies, while another helps high-profile restaurant groups retool their executive teams. Some invest in fast-casual chains like Sweetgreen, and others represent the city’s independent restaurants and bars in...WW…

David Ching opened his Guangzhou-style Chinese barbecue restaurant Hay Hay Roasted, on Mott Street, in Manhattan’s Chinatown at the beginning of 2021. Right from the opening, he began closing his restaurant at 7 p.m., even though he would have liked to welcome customers till 8 p.m. or later. Part of it was that Chinatown’s streets were just empty past 7 p.m., he says, but a more pressing concern was the prolonged rise in violence against Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S.Since the restaurant’s opening, Ching says he’s been encouraging his eight staffers to travel in groups when...…David Ching opened his Guangzhou-style Chinese barbecue restaurant Hay Hay Roasted, on Mott Street, in Manhattan’s Chinatown at the beginning of 2021. Right from the opening, he began closing his restaurant at 7 p.m., even though he would have liked to welcome customers till 8 p.m. or later. Part of it was that Chinatown’s streets were just empty past 7 p.m., he says, but a more pressing concern was the prolonged rise in violence against Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S.Since the restaurant’s opening, Ching says he’s been encouraging his eight staffers to travel in groups when...WW…

Filed under:The $20.21 meal deals will stick around through February 28NYC Restaurant Week To Go — the takeout and delivery-focused version of the city’s long-running, semiannual Restaurant Week — has officially been extended for three more weeks, following a successful first run this week with an of participating restaurants.Originally, debuted on January 25 and was slated to run through January 31, with the option for participating restaurants to extend their promotional $20.21 menus through February 7. Now, according to NYC & Company, the city’s tourism office and host of Restaurant...…Filed under:The $20.21 meal deals will stick around through February 28NYC Restaurant Week To Go — the takeout and delivery-focused version of the city’s long-running, semiannual Restaurant Week — has officially been extended for three more weeks, following a successful first run this week with an of participating restaurants.Originally, debuted on January 25 and was slated to run through January 31, with the option for participating restaurants to extend their promotional $20.21 menus through February 7. Now, according to NYC & Company, the city’s tourism office and host of Restaurant...WW…

Filed under:If the state brings indoor dining back in the city, the mayor is going outNYC Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed at a Thursday press conference that if the state greenlights the return of indoor dining in the city, he will be eating out.“I would, because if indoor dining is brought back I’m certain the state will do it with careful restrictions,” de Blasio said in response to a reporter’s question on the topic. “And, our health department as the agency that does the enforcement is going to be really strong in doing that enforcement.”Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state is...…Filed under:If the state brings indoor dining back in the city, the mayor is going outNYC Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed at a Thursday press conference that if the state greenlights the return of indoor dining in the city, he will be eating out.“I would, because if indoor dining is brought back I’m certain the state will do it with careful restrictions,” de Blasio said in response to a reporter’s question on the topic. “And, our health department as the agency that does the enforcement is going to be really strong in doing that enforcement.”Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state is...WW…

Filed under:The proposed legislation stipulates that restaurants would have to pay their staffers a base wage of at least $15 an hour in order to use the surchargeNYC restaurant surcharges — first as a temporary measure to help restaurants cover extra costs during the pandemic — could be here to stay. NYC Council member Antonio Reynoso introduced a bill today that would allow restaurants and bars to permanently implement an up to 15 percent surcharge on customers’ checks, as long as the establishment pays all staffers a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour.Reynoso, who represents parts of...…Filed under:The proposed legislation stipulates that restaurants would have to pay their staffers a base wage of at least $15 an hour in order to use the surchargeNYC restaurant surcharges — first as a temporary measure to help restaurants cover extra costs during the pandemic — could be here to stay. NYC Council member Antonio Reynoso introduced a bill today that would allow restaurants and bars to permanently implement an up to 15 percent surcharge on customers’ checks, as long as the establishment pays all staffers a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour.Reynoso, who represents parts of...WW…

Filed under:“The facts, the science, the data, are just screaming at us right now that we have a huge challenge and we have to beat it back,” the mayor said during a press conferenceNYC restaurants are likely to face more operating restrictions very soon, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned during a press conference on Thursday. Based on the of positive COVID-19 case counts in the city, de Blasio said that he expects the entire city to be designated as an orange zone in as soon as “a week or two.” The designation would push all of the city’s restaurants back to outdoor dining-only, with a maximum...…Filed under:“The facts, the science, the data, are just screaming at us right now that we have a huge challenge and we have to beat it back,” the mayor said during a press conferenceNYC restaurants are likely to face more operating restrictions very soon, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned during a press conference on Thursday. Based on the of positive COVID-19 case counts in the city, de Blasio said that he expects the entire city to be designated as an orange zone in as soon as “a week or two.” The designation would push all of the city’s restaurants back to outdoor dining-only, with a maximum...WW…

Filed under:Some restaurateurs may be forced to redo their curbside setups in light of the new regulationsThe NYC Department of Transportation is significantly beefing up the safety requirements for year-round outdoor dining setups — one of the few lifelines that restaurants have been relying on to generate revenue through the pandemic — as the city heads into the winter months.The , which were posted to the DOT’s website on November 13, require restaurants to retrofit their curbside outdoor dining setups with more safety features including heavy filler material, more reflective strips, and...…Filed under:Some restaurateurs may be forced to redo their curbside setups in light of the new regulationsThe NYC Department of Transportation is significantly beefing up the safety requirements for year-round outdoor dining setups — one of the few lifelines that restaurants have been relying on to generate revenue through the pandemic — as the city heads into the winter months.The , which were posted to the DOT’s website on November 13, require restaurants to retrofit their curbside outdoor dining setups with more safety features including heavy filler material, more reflective strips, and...WW…

Filed under:Plus, a new Yemeni coffee shop lands in Williamsburg — and more intelIn a new , the New York Times examines why the city isn’t considering closing down indoor dining before schools, which are facing a likely shutdown soon as COVID-19 cases rise in the city. Schools have been relatively low places of transmission, according to the NYT report, while restaurants are a different story. The NYT cited a September CDC report that found that people who contracted COVID-19 were twice as likely to have eaten in a restaurant; as well as public health experts who repeatedly said that indoor...…Filed under:Plus, a new Yemeni coffee shop lands in Williamsburg — and more intelIn a new , the New York Times examines why the city isn’t considering closing down indoor dining before schools, which are facing a likely shutdown soon as COVID-19 cases rise in the city. Schools have been relatively low places of transmission, according to the NYT report, while restaurants are a different story. The NYT cited a September CDC report that found that people who contracted COVID-19 were twice as likely to have eaten in a restaurant; as well as public health experts who repeatedly said that indoor...WW…

Filed under:The restaurant owner filmed a city inspector issuing a citation due to the cafe’s open front doorWhy would anyone want to open a business in NYC?? A cafe in our district today received a summons for having their doors open!They were adhering to the law by banning indoor/outdoor dining, & they were only open for takeout.That wasn’t enough for this misinformed inspector: — Councilman Deutsch (@ChaimDeutsch)In Gravesend, Brooklyn — one of the city’s red-zoned shutdown areas, where restaurants are currently restricted to takeout and delivery only — a cafe owner has thrown a...…Filed under:The restaurant owner filmed a city inspector issuing a citation due to the cafe’s open front doorWhy would anyone want to open a business in NYC?? A cafe in our district today received a summons for having their doors open!They were adhering to the law by banning indoor/outdoor dining, & they were only open for takeout.That wasn’t enough for this misinformed inspector: — Councilman Deutsch (@ChaimDeutsch)In Gravesend, Brooklyn — one of the city’s red-zoned shutdown areas, where restaurants are currently restricted to takeout and delivery only — a cafe owner has thrown a...WW…

Filed under:Proponents of the initiative are looking towards FiDi’s Stone Street as an example to expand onNew York City Council is focusing in on how make outdoor dining a reality for restaurants and bars this summer.In published in Crain’s New York on Monday, City Council speaker Corey Johnson and NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said that both groups were reaching out to restaurant owners, business improvement districts, and neighborhood community boards to “identify criteria and potential areas” where the city could test outdoor dining options.Rigie and Johnson...…Filed under:Proponents of the initiative are looking towards FiDi’s Stone Street as an example to expand onNew York City Council is focusing in on how make outdoor dining a reality for restaurants and bars this summer.In published in Crain’s New York on Monday, City Council speaker Corey Johnson and NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said that both groups were reaching out to restaurant owners, business improvement districts, and neighborhood community boards to “identify criteria and potential areas” where the city could test outdoor dining options.Rigie and Johnson...WW…