Nearly two-thirds of New York restaurants expect to close

Most New York restaurants don’t expect to be taking orders next year.

A stunning 64 percent of restaurants across the state said they are likely or somewhat likely to close by the end of the year, according to a survey by the New York State Restaurant Association.

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Of those likely to close, 55 percent said they will be forced to shut their doors before November.

“It is painfully clear that without financial assistance, the restaurant industry in New York state could collapse,” the trade group’s president and CEO, Melissa Fleischut, said in a statement. “These recent survey results illustrate just how dire the financial situation has become for most restaurants, and it shows how critical it is that elected officials understand the urgency of the situation.”

The results follow an earlier August survey that found 92 percent of New York restaurant operators have furloughed or laid off employees since the pandemic started. Half of those had to shed at least 90 percent of staff.

That same survey found that 19 percent of restaurants remain closed, either temporarily or permanently, because of a lack of business. Indoor dining was banned statewide in late March and is now allowed at 50 percent of capacity, except in New York City, where it remains forbidden.

New York City restaurants have been particularly hard hit despite efforts to expand outdoor dining to parking lanes and sidewalks. Business is expected to get even worse as the temperature drops.

In the city, some restaurants have come together to sue the city and the state, in an effort to lift indoor dining restrictions.

Contact Sasha Jones at sasha.jones@therealdeal.com