Eat's about time & random bites: Our new abnormal (XVIII)

Eat’s about time & random bites: Our new abnormal (XVIII)

1) In the Eat of the Moment

If there’s an industry hard hit by the COVID virus and community quarantines, it would be the restaurant industry. Food in itself is still a mainstay of our consumption patterns, so those who offer deliveries and take-outs have found ways to survive and/or stay relevant – especially when, since early on, these businesses were home-based and online. But the grim realities of running food outlets, eateries, and restaurants; with the operational costs of monthly overheads, rentals, and staffing became onerous burdens for their owners. Many have had to bitterly accept closures or surrender to the acquisition, rather than facing the continuous drain on their resources.

Big restaurant chains had longer ropes to cling to and survive; but at the rate, it’s going, it may mean the inevitable fall will just be a heavier one. Some areas that thrived like crazy before the pandemic, such as Poblacion in Makati, are struggling to keep their heads above water – and it doesn’t help that more than one establishment there was fined just earlier this month for not following social distancing protocols. Those few stubborn apples will put the others who are complying in danger of being shut down again, should some outbreak be traced to that area.