“Woke” areas continue to suffer from the leftist’s antics since 2020. This covers both health issues as well as industries. The results in some industries have been catastrophic.
Let’s look at the restaurant industry using data kept by the restaurant reservation service OpenTable. Presumably we can extrapolate this to other industries as well.
In Minneapolis, the epicenter of violence emanating from the drug-fueled death of George Floyd, along with its draconian lockdowns and vaccine passports, the number of daily diners is down by more than half.
“Minneapolis needs to clean up its act,” said Greg Urban, a Minnesota businessman who owns Wild Greg’s Saloons in Minneapolis.
He also operates three other themed nightlife hotspots in Austin, Texas; Pensacola, Florida; and Lakeland, Florida. “We’re just getting killed in Minneapolis. People don’t feel safe. They don’t feel safe coming to Minneapolis. It’s a public safety issue right now.”
The list of bottom 10 cities struggling to recover is rounded out by San Francisco (-45.9%), Portland (-45.2%), Seattle (-40.8%), Philadelphia (-39.2%), New York City (-37.9%), St. Louis (-28.2%), Washington D.C. (-27.3%), Baltimore (-24.9%) and Chicago (-22.8%).
All of these cities can categorized as deep blue and all are seen as cities with significant crime problems. They also bought into the insanity of never ending COVID lockdowns and mandates.
In NYC alone, some 50,000 fewer people work in the restaurant industry today than on the eve of the lockdowns, and some 4500 restaurants have closed. And did I mention that NYC is a sanctuary city? Currently the mayor is whining about the decrease in the quality of life because Texas has sent NYC some of the thousands of illegal aliens that cross the border every day.
Minnesota’s restaurant industry employes 25,000 fewer people today than it did before the lockdowns.
How are the red states doing?
Many cities, especially in Florida, are blowing well past the number of people who ate out in 2019.
“Florida quickly returned to normal and avoided the draconian lockdowns you saw in other parts of the country,” said Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association spokesman Geoff Luebkemann.
Las Vegas was number one in terms of increases (>35%) and was followed closely by Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Austin, Naples and Tampa.
Florida is the place to be followed by Texas. As one wag noted, “Even Democratic politicians went to Florida.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was photographed partying maskless in Miami in January 2022 while advocating lockdown policies and mask and jab mandates in her home state — and elsewhere around the country.
What about those government policies that were supposed to help industries like restaurants?
The Biden administration offered a $26.8 billon Restaurant Revitalization Fund in 2021. But 72 percent of applicants got $0 from the program — while the biggest dollars often went to the most high-profile chefs and businesses, according to the Small Business Administration.
Just another boondoggle for well-connected business owners. The little guy was left out.
Maria Morillo, an immigrant entrepreneur who operates a pizza shop in a Manhattan housing project, received just $1,816.38 from the fund, the lowest amount of any eatery in the borough that actually received funds. Most did not.
“I’m disappointed,” Morillo told The Post at the time.
“We’re trying to run a small business here. But they’re not concerned about us at all.”
Just another example that the Democratic Party is the Party of Big Business and well-heeled donors. Except at election time, they could care less about the common people. With election fraud becoming a growth industry with them, soon they may not need the common people at all.