Gordon stands behind the entrance to his restaurant Beachwood BBQ, open for 14 years in Seal Beach, California, on July 28, 2020, but closing soon due to the economic situation around the coronavirus pandemic. – AFPPIXAlfano inside her now closed restaurant due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on July 28, in Santa Monica, California. – AFPPIX
But this weekend, Beachwood BBQ, which had become a staple in the community, permanently shut down – yet another casualty of the carnage the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed on restaurants across the United States. "That's because we won't be in place until the airlines are fixed, until the hotels are fixed and until tourism is back."
In California alone, the statistics are sobering. There were some 1.4 million people working in a restaurant before the pandemic, and over the past four months some 1 million have either been laid off or furloughed, said Sharokina Shams, vice president of public affairs for the California Restaurant Association.