The is expressing concerns that any lockdowns as a result of the delta variant will be devastating to the industry.
The association believes that scenario is not likely because of , which restricts the power of the Department of Health. Association President and CEO John Barker says another lockdown would cripple an already hurting industry statewide.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing across the board鈥攅verywhere in Ohio鈥攚e鈥檙e seeing restaurants stay closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, in some cases also Wednesdays. Restaurant chains closing early," Barker said. "We鈥檝e seen coffee chains closing at 3 o鈥檆lock in the afternoon saying, 鈥榃e just don鈥檛 have enough people to fill out the shifts.鈥欌��
Barker says that although restaurants were able to recover financially somewhat this summer, customer traffic in downtown areas is still down 60 to 70 percent from before the pandemic.
