Food & Beverage

Yelp: Pandemic permanently closes nearly 16K restaurants

Photo: iStock

July 27, 2020

Sixty percent of the more than 26,000 restaurants that were temporarily shuttered by the pandemic will not reopen, according to the Yelp Economic Average quarterly report released July 22. It found that nearly 16,000 restaurants have shut down permanently, an indication that for many restaurant businesses, even shifts to delivery- and carryout-only operations have been unsuccessful.

The findings mean that the restaurant industry leads the nation in its number of business closures, even more than retail in general, according to Yelp, which said that since mid-June, restaurant permanent closures nationally have grown 23%.

"The restaurant industry now reflects the highest total business closures, recently surpassing retail," the report said. "As of July 10, there have been 26,160 total restaurant closures, an increase of 2,179 since June 15. Of the all closed restaurants in July, 15,770 have permanently closed (60%), accounting for 2,956 more permanent closures, a 23% increase since June 15. Meanwhile, bars and nightlife, an industry six times smaller than restaurants, have endured an especially high closure rate, with 5,454 total business closures, 2,429 (44%) of which are permanent closures."

All this said, Yelp Economic Average found that consumers' business interest has continued to fluctuate since May, though not as quickly as in March and April. Interest in alcohol-related restaurant experience has been growing since June 1, in relation to other food activities, however.

German cuisine, live and raw food, French cuisine and steakhouses

Within restaurant culinary sectors, Yelp said German cuisine, live and raw food, French cuisine and steakhouses have seen increases in consumer interest since June 1, when compared with other restaurant categories, up 35%, 36%, 21% and 20%, respectively. But across limited service the growth was absent.

"As people head back into restaurants, fast casual and common delivery foods continue to decline at a slow rate, including fast food (down 19%), cheesesteaks (down 8%), chicken wings (down 15%) and pizza (down 7%)," the report said.

Finally, public support for Black-owned businesses of all types, including restaurants, remains high. From May 25 to July 10, there have been more than 2.5 million searches for Black-owned businesses on Yelp, compared to approximately 35,000 over the same time period last year (7,043% increase).