5 years after COVID, Minnesota dining scene has more restaurants but fewer workers
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It’s been five years since Gov. Tim Walz shut down indoor dining as the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to Minnesota.
It forced many restaurants to adapt in ways they could have never expected.
As we look back on that time, what changes have stuck in our food scene?
Em Cassel is co-owner and editor of Racket. She’s been keeping an eye on the shifting restaurant industry and shared her observations with MPR News host Tom Crann.
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Skyrocketing menu prices
The pandemic kicked off a spike in food prices that remains unabated today.
Cassel said a recent report shows there’s been another 10 percent increase in wholesale food prices in the last year. It’s a cost that often ends up getting passed onto diners, she said. And that’s led to an overall decline in people dining out.
More restaurants but fewer workers
Despite fears at the start of the pandemic that COVID would be an extinction-level event, a recent Hospitality Minnesota report stated the state has more restaurants now than in 2019. However, the workforce has shrunk.
The pandemic was “a reset moment for a lot of people,” Cassel said. It gave them a chance to go back to school or explore other interests and passions. As they did so, some left the restaurant industry and haven’t looked back, meaning some restaurants have had to make do with fewer staff.
More limited hours
While restaurants have re-opened, many have more limited hours than they once did. Specifically, Cassel said she is “mourning the loss of happy hours.”
“I feel like we used to have a really robust happy hour culture in the Twin Cities and since COVID, I find that to be less of a sure thing.”
Lingering challenges
Although the pandemic is over, restaurants are still dealing with lingering effects, Cassel said.
“Prices going up — that hasn’t slowed down. Rent prices are still going up,” she said. “I think when you hear about restaurants closing, a lot of the time you can draw a thread back to 2020 for when those challenges started.”
