The Restaurant Industry Two Years Into COVID

 The restaurant industry continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic that is still infecting over 20,000 and killing over 1,000 Americans every day.  While showing proof of vaccination and some of the other most unpopular protections put in place by health agencies have now been lifted, the restaurant industry is met with new challenges.  These challenges include the increase in costs of operations, labor shortages and unpredictable shifts in customer bases.

Increase in CostsAccording to The Wall Street Journal, food prices are estimated to rise on average five percent in the first half of 2022, while other sources point to a seven-percent increase by the end of the year.  This estimate will likely be well under the price jump as fuel costs continue to rise.  In California, Proposition 12 banned all sales of breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves from farms that fail to meet new confinement standards.  This law went into effect January 1, 2022, but was…