Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

When will restaurants return to normal? It depends on whom you ask

Shaine Berndt, founder and owner of Berndt Ends BBQ in Mandarin, plates meals on a recent Wednesday.
Bob Self
/
Florida Times-Union
Shaine Berndt, founder and owner of Berndt Ends BBQ in Mandarin, plates meals on a recent Wednesday.

Some dining rooms are filling up at Jacksonville restaurants as people gradually venture out to eat again, be it at a neighborhood diner, a fast-casual cafe or an upscale restaurant, nationwide research data indicates.

However, it's unclear when Jacksonville restaurants will fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovery varies from one restaurant to another. The restaurant type, cuisine, price and location are among the factors affecting how quickly a restaurant recovers.

Customers are coming back to varying degrees despite the lingering pandemic, but many local restaurant owners say they're still hamstrung by a shortage of cooks, servers, cashiers and other essential employees.

Read the rest of the story at WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union.