Americans are dining out in record numbers as pandemic restrictions lift, with restaurants struggling to keep up with demand amid a labor shortage, data released by review site Yelp showed Tuesday.
Yelp data showed more than 3.7 million diners seated using its app in May 2021, the highest number ever, surpassing pre-pandemic highs, according to Yelp restaurant marketplace manager Devon Wright.
Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.
The number of diners was 48 percent higher than in May 2019, according to the data.
The surge comes with a growing number of Americans having been vaccinated, and local governments gradually lifting mask mandates and limits on indoor dining.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“As diners head back into restaurants, new restaurant and food businesses are opening at near pre-pandemic levels,” Wright said in a blog post.
“Nearly 6,600 new restaurant and food businesses opened in May 2021, a 42 percent increase from May 2020 and down by only 21 percent from May 2019.”
Yelp also counted 16,500 reopenings in April 2021, with that number dipping to 5,000 in May.
The jump in restaurant dining has been especially pronounced in some cities seeing more tourism such as Honolulu (up 853 percent) and Las Vegas (up 589 percent), Yelp said.
Wright said restaurants are increasingly turning to technology to help manage the spike in light of difficulties in finding workers.
This includes more use of digital menus, contactless payments, smartphone waitlists, reservations and table management.
Pandemic restrictions have been gradually lifted in the US with just over 52 percent of the US population, or 174 million people, have already received at least one dose, according to health officials.
Read more:
US screens over 2 mln people at airports as travel picks up after COVID-19 downturn
New York City mayor launches $100 COVID-19 vaccine referral bonus program
US has administered 308.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC
Also Read
-
US has administered 308.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC
The United States has administered 308,112,728 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 374,397,205 doses in the country as of Saturday morning, the ... World News -
Two COVID-19 cases on one of the first N. American cruises since virus hit
Two guests on one of the first cruise ships to sail from North America since the Covid-19 pandemic hit tested positive Thursday, the cruise company ... Coronavirus -
US buying 500 mln doses of Pfizer COVID vaccine to distribute among other countries
The administration of President Joe Biden is buying 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to distribute among other countries, US ... Coronavirus -
EU, US to end trade tariffs, call for new study into COVID-19 origins: Summit draft
The leaders of the European Union and the United States are set to commit to lifting steel tariffs before December 1, 2021, and avoid any further ... Coronavirus
