Takeaway is here to stay

Like every small town and big city in America, Asheville faced unprecedented challenges when COVID-19 turned the entire restaurant industry upside down, sending many to a takeout-only model that required a dependence on food containers, bags and disposables. Unsurprisingly, that had a significant impact on waste and recyclable collections.

Restaurant­s can open at full capacity, but staffing is a challenge

In theory, Gov. Roy Cooper’s May 14 announcement lifting mandatory capacity and gathering limits and allowing fully vaccinated diners to leave their masks at home should allow North Carolina restaurants to get back to a pre-pandemic normal. But in practice, Cooper’s announcement doesn’t change much for many local restaurateurs. “What is driving restaurants’ decisions right now […]