American restaurants are struggling to fill tables weeks after reopening

COVID-19 HAS infected every sector of the global economy. But perhaps none has been hit as hard as the restaurant industry. Lockdowns have forced many eateries to close; even in places without stay-at-home orders in place, few have dared to dine out. In America, restaurant spending has fallen by 51% between the start of the year and the end of April, according to the Census Bureau. Employment in the sector, which historically provided one in twelve jobs, has dropped by nearly half. Last week Steve Hafner, chief executive of OpenTable, a restaurant-reservation website, warned that as many as a quarter of restaurants in the country will never open their doors again.