How Has Restaurant Construction in New York, NY Evolved During the Pandemic
Prior to the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant upswing in the construction sector across New York City, the broader New York state, and the entire United States. This upward trajectory was abruptly disrupted by the pandemic, notably affecting the restaurant construction sector in New York, NY, resulting in job losses, decreased revenue, shifts in construction and design practices, and the implementation of new strategies. The industry was forced to adapt to new restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, leading to several impactful changes within this field.
The Loss of Jobs
The first and obvious effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant construction industry and the sector as a whole was the loss of jobs. New York City has been the national epicenter of the pandemic. The New York State government had to put a pause on all non-essential construction projects to curb the spread of the virus. This restriction saw construction employment dip by about 12.9% in the city and about 1.7% in the state at large. The state had the highest construction job losses in the country in 2020 accounting for more than 20% of all job losses in this industry in the country.
A Change in Constructions Design
Among the many COVID-19 restrictions has been the demand by authorities for people to not assemble or gather in a confined space. Authorities advised people to avoid converging in crowded areas. This restriction meant that people could no longer assemble in places such as hotels, restaurants, and places of worship among others. The government advised citizens to consider taking away food and eating strictly at home. This restriction has significantly affected the business of many restaurants as most of them accrue most of their revenue and profits from walk-in clients.
To comply with social distancing restrictions, hotels and restaurants that have clients walk in and eat from their establishments are redesigning their spaces. Restaurant owners are now redesigning their spaces to accommodate fewer people to allow for social distancing. These new designs have also seen contractors rethink their plans for constructing new eateries and other social spaces throughout the city.
Open Restaurant Program
New York City is working towards creating a sustainable and permanent open restaurant program. This program will allow restaurants that before only allowed indoor dining to have their clients sit and dine outside. The restaurants will now be in a position to make use of curb-side roadway spaces as well as sidewalks right in front of their establishments for outdoor dining.
This program is set to change how contractors build hotels and restaurants, especially the small establishments that have been popular among the streets of New York. There will be of course some legal changes that the city will need to change, but this whole idea is aimed at reducing the need for people to converge in small spaces and allow for social distancing to remain in effect. This program will work to keep the small establishments in business, but also curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Other measures are changing the construction of restaurants in New York. All of them are geared towards controlling the spread of Covid-19 and the variants.
