Restaurant Reservations

Reservations numbers continued to climb this week, with a 3.4% weekly average increase for both the US and Georgia. The US numbers climbed from -59.3% to -55.8% and GA numbers climbed from -54.2% to -50.8% Despite rising coronavirus cases in the US, people are still going out to fine dining establishments. 

Casual Dining, Fast Food, and Bars

Casual dining restaurant foot traffic and bar foot traffic appear to be on a slow recovery this week, with casual dining increasing by 1% for its daily average (66% to 67%) and bars increasing by .6% for their daily average (69.4% to 70.0%).  

Fast food restaurants remain unaffected by the pandemic

Restaurant Reclosures by state

Restaurants and bars are being re-closed after a spike in COVID-19 cases. This is a comprehensive list of states that have re-closed or restricted their restaurants as of July 28^th. To see details about how the states are re-restricting their restaurants, click this link to see the full article by Elazar Sontag.

• Idaho
• Florida
• Arizona
• Texas
• Colorado
• Michigan
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Nevada
• California
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Illinois
• Kentucky

There have been no new reclosures this week.

In the news

A timeline of Georgia’s rollercoaster restaurant reopening

Beth McKibben

From dining room shutdowns and overnight pivots to takeout, to reopening pushback, mask mandates, and tough closure decisions, 2020 has been a cruel year for Georgia restaurants and bars.

So much has gone down on the Atlanta dining scene since mid-March. [This article contains a] breakdown of Georgia’s restaurant dining room shutdown and reopening timeline from March through July.

Georgia Governor Signs a Bill Allowing Grocery Stores and Restaurants to Deliver Booze

Beth McKibben 

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill on Monday allowing home delivery of beer, wine, and liquor in Georgia. HB879, which has been in the works since before the pandemic, permits beer, wine, and liquor to be delivered directly to people’s homes from restaurants, bars, convenience stores, some package and retail stores, and grocery stores. However, the new legislation excludes the state’s breweries and distilleries.

It could be months before businesses across the state can actually begin home deliveries. According to the AJC, the Department of Revenue still needs to draw up the regulations and measures needed for businesses to comply with the law.

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms continues to extend a citywide order temporarily allowing restaurants to sell unopened beer and wine to-go for off-premise consumption during the pandemic. The order does not include open containers or cocktails. By permitting Georgia restaurants to deliver beer, wine, and liquor with takeout food, this new law could provide another source of much-needed revenue.