Cold weather means new challenges for struggling restaurants

UNDATED (AP)- U.S. restaurants are moving warily into fall, hoping their slow recovery persists despite the new challenge of chilly weather and a pandemic that’s expected to claim even more lives. New York opens indoor dining on Wednesday, restricting capacity to 25%. San Francisco may do the same as early as this week. Chicago is raising its indoor capacity from 25% to 40% on Thursday. The National Restaurant Association says nearly 100,000 U.S. restaurants have shut their doors since the pandemic began. Employment rose in the last four months, but there are still 2.5 million fewer restaurant workers than there were in February.