Daniel Humm 11 Madison talks about closing and not re-opening a common denominator shared the world over for restaurant owners.

Ask yourself how can any restaurant in Italy and France open its doors when most operate in his historic buildings, small and cozy. For anyone who who has been to Florence or Venice you can easily understand restaurant owners will not be able to open and operate with the new norms – spaces are just too small, and it is part of the restaurant’s charm and atmosphere.

Social distancing is key, or we are told it’s key, and it is but there is a lot of other cautionary tales to take into consideration. If it’s true that the coronavirus lives on inanimate objects, and I believe it does, then what do we do about touching surfaces, or even door handles to get into a restaurant?

How do we use a knife and fork if a waiter touches it after having touched his face, or it’s not cleaned properly and is contaminated with the virus. There is a multitude of variables we all need to take to consideration. Perhaps just too many and as we reopen we will discover that many restaurants are not able to be open to the public and be commercially viable again.

So what will restaurants do in Europe for the most part? Definitely many will not be able to reopen trying to figure out the limits. Reopening means limited number of customers higher operating costs and greater losses, so they’re better off to stay closed first long as possible until things become stable otherwise they will have to assume all of the operating costs.

The hospitality sector is devastated at least for a while until we have figured out how to vaccinate people or to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Many are take-out catering services to stay alive, and that helps but it isn’t the same.

What baffles my mind is how will the airline industry recover and what will they do with all those aircraft and all the new aircraft under order? I feel nauseous when I think about it but it’s these kinds of events that change the world we live in.