Thread by @ElonBachman

1\ Last night I chatted with the manager of a popular new taco place in the neighborhood. COVID-19 was never an issue here, but the hysteria has been intense, and they are already considering shutting the restaurant down.

Here are all the ways they're affected:

2\ Seating at 50% capacity (previously 25%). No business with fixed costs can survive this rule, but they had imagined they could fund their losses during a brief lockdown. With no end in sight, they're reconsidering.

3\ They have to have a dedicated person at the door to take meaningless, inaccurate temperatures and to dispense hand sanitizer. So, perversely, their staffing has gone *up*

4\ All tableware is now disposable, which is more expensive for them. So, again, they are forced to add costs even while being forced to turn business away.

5\ No alcohol sales are allowed past mid-evening. Obviously booze is their highest margin product, so this is devastating for profits.

6\ The combination of an early booze ban and a local curfew means that they can no longer stay open late. But they also can't ask staff to work 1.5 shifts, so to make staffing work, they also have to *open later*

7\7 Summary:

Open later
More staff per shift
More tableware cost
Turn fewer tables
Sell less booze
Close earlier

Science!

8\7 Oh yeah, and she mentioned inventory inefficiencies that I didn't understand. I would guess something to do with fewer volume discounts, more spoilage, etc.