WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- The head of the Iowa Restaurant Association says there's reason for optimism a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've had three grant programs, one of which we're expecting checks in-hand from the state of Iowa this week. And over the weekend, The Restaurant Revitalization Act was including the stimulus package passed in the U.S. Senate" says Iowa Restaurant Association President Jessica Dunker.
She says many Iowa bars and restaurants also got help from two rounds of federal Payroll Protection Plan payments.
As for those restaurants that didn't make it through the pandemic, Dunker says empty businesses in large cities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids will likely be taken over by another restaurant. She says that won't be the case in rural parts of Iowa.
"It's very likely that the fabric of hospitality culture in rural areas is impacted forever, and there will be food deserts where we just aren't finding any independently-owned restaurants," she says.
Dunker says COVID restrictions did help push the restaurant industry in a direction is was already going.
“Pre-COVID, 37 percent of restaurant food was eaten in the restaurant, which means 63 percent of restaurant food was either take-out, drive-through, or delivery. We were already being thrust in that direction,” she says.
Dunker also says COVID's pushed restaurants to use more "touchless" technology--using smart phones order and pay for their food, even if customers are sitting in a restaurant.
As for the future of the industry, she says half of restaurant operators surveyed think it could take as long as year to the get the industry back to normal, while 10 percent say it will NEVER come back to normal.