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It’s been five years since Gov. Tim Walz shut down indoor dining as the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to Minnesota. 

It forced many restaurants to adapt in ways they could have never expected.

As we look back on that time, what changes have stuck in our food scene?

Em Cassel is co-owner and editor of Racket. She’s been 

 on the shifting restaurant industry and shared her observations with MPR News host Tom Crann.

Listen to the full conversation by clicking play on the audio player above.

The pandemic kicked off a spike in food prices that remains unabated today.

Cassel said a recent report shows there’s been another 10 percent increase in wholesale food prices in the last year. It’s a cost that often ends up getting passed onto diners, she said. And that’s led to an overall decline in people dining out. 

Despite fears at the start of the pandemic that COVID would be an extinction-level event, a recent 

 stated the state has more restaurants now than in 2019. However, the workforce has shrunk. 

The pandemic was “a reset moment for a lot of people,” Cassel said. It gave them a chance to go back to school or explore other interests and passions. As they did so, some left the restaurant industry and haven’t looked back, meaning some restaurants have had to make do with fewer staff. 

While restaurants have re-opened, many have more limited hours than they once did. Specifically, Cassel said she is “mourning the loss of happy hours.”

“I feel like we used to have a really robust happy hour culture in the Twin Cities and since COVID, I find that to be less of a sure thing.”

Although the pandemic is over, restaurants are still dealing with lingering effects, Cassel said. 

“Prices going up — that hasn’t slowed down. Rent prices are still going up,” she said. “I think when you hear about restaurants closing, a lot of the time you can draw a thread back to 2020 for when those challenges started.”

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Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota restaurants have not gone extinct as some feared — but the dining scene isn’t the same, either.

5 years after Covid, Minnesota dining scene has more restaurants but fewer workers

A person painting the words "Open every day. Order online on a widow.

5 years after COVID, Minnesota dining scene has more restaurants but fewer workers

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