Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Friday about whether the restaurant industry will survive the coronavirus crisis.
"I've been talking this week to a lot of restaurateurs. Most of them are saying they have so little operating capital left, even if they've tried to stay open to do takeout or help feed front line health workers," he said.
Restaurant owners have had to make tough choices about whether to remain opened or closed during this time, Kummer added.
"The ones who are heroically staying open — all their legal advice is, 'Do not stay open, it's going to be less complicated to reopen if you're shut down tight,'" he said. "All of the legal liability is much easier and less complicated if restaurants have shut down, so what a choice these restaurant owners have been facing."
Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.