There are many signs that there is a revival. There are many restaurants and bars that have a full house. Many restaurants and bars have seen an increase in their capacity due to the Open Streets program.Simone Tong, Silver Apricot's chef, stated that it feels like every day is a Saturday. The energy is back.Some restaurants are signing new leases as New York City's commercial retail rents have fallen to record levels. According to the city health department figures (which also include renewals of existing restaurants), there were 1,713 new restaurant permits from January 1 through July 2.However, the 2019 number of applications was roughly the same as in 2018, and many owners feel they are far from the old norm.People believe that restaurants can be 100 percent and that when they eat in the restaurants they are full, everything is fine. Jeffrey Bank, chief executive of Alicart Restaurant Group which also owns Carmines Real Barbecue and Virgils Real Barbecue, stated that this belief is false. It isn't.It is now becoming clear how much damage the pandemic has caused. According to the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York had over 27,000 restaurants just before the state closed down indoor dining in March 2020. Although the department does not have any current statistics, Yelp, which tracks restaurant openings shows that there are about 2,000 less. According to the New York State Department of Labor, there were 173,500 restaurant workers in June. This is a 38 percent decrease from the 280,000 in December 2019.
