Millions of restaurant jobs have disappeared in the coronavirus pandemic, with more evaporating each day.
In the Bay Area, restaurants are only allowed to be open for takeout and delivery orders because of the worsening surge.
"Today will be the last day for many of those restaurants. Tomorrow will be the last day for others," said David Nayfeld, executive chef and co-owner of Che Fico in San Francisco on KCBS Radio's "Ask An Expert" program.
He said the latest relief bill does not do enough to save his industry.
"The signaling continues to be, 'Hey, we’ll take care of you on the next one, we’ll take care of you on the next one, we’ll take care of you on the next one.' I guess my question to that is, what do you tell the folks that aren’t able to withstand ‘til the next one?"
The federal government has failed to push through the RESTAURANTS Act, funding from Sacramento is not forthcoming, and "the local government I think has done a fairly terrible job of really bringing in business owners and trying to understand their mandates and their challenges," said Nayfeld.
He argued that the rules that dictated outdoor dining were effective at keeping people safe, but now even that is not allowed.
His short term outlook is bleak.
"Here in the Bay Area, what I think ultimately will happen is more restaurants will close, you’re going to see more real estate and empty vacant spaces," with each vacant space representing dozens of lost jobs.
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