Sandy's Effects on Restaurants Won't Be Clear for Months

Now on day four of the post-Sandy apocalypse in Lower Manhattan, things may be getting rather desperate for the area's chefs and restaurateurs who are quickly losing ridiculous amounts of money. Serious Eats talks to several to see how Sandy is affecting New York restaurants, and (spoiler alert!) it kind of really sucks.

Christophe Hille of Northern Spy Food Co. estimates (conservatively) that his losses will be around $35,000, all told. Prohibition Bakery in the Lower East Side puts it in different terms: "We are easily losing what amounts to a month or two of rent, not to mention the loss of everything in the fridge." Echoing what Drew Nieporent said, Serious Eats says it's "far from a guarantee" that all these losses will be recuped through insurance. And then of course there's the effect on the employees at these closed restaurants, without any income until they're able to get back to work.

In this myriad of challenges facing an already-cutthroat industry, David Schneider of Oaxaca Taqueria adds one more: "the biggest challenge for us is getting people to come back. You kind of lose momentum with people feeling comfortable eating out. Con Ed can throw the switch back on, but that doesn't mean you'll have people rushing out to eat."
· How Hurricane Sandy is Affecting Restaurants in NYC [Serious Eats]
· All Coverage of Hurricane Sandy [~ENY~]
Franco Barrio of Barrio 47 in the West Village, cooking in the dark. [Courtesy Barrio 47]