January 15, 2021 — While 2020 has been the hardest year the U.S. restaurant industry has ever faced, some analysts and seafood suppliers expect to see the industry rebound in 2021.
Major foodservice distributor US Foods, for example, is optimistic about a restaurant-sector recovery, as more Americans obtain the COVID-19 vaccine and return to dining out, according to its chairman and CEO, Pietro Satriano.
May 19, 2020 — Seafood company managers like Jon Pearlman can see the impact of the coronavirus and economic downturn simply by looking at the trucks leaving the lot.
During a busy season, almost 30 of them are used to transport hundreds of orders every day. However, over the last two months, the amount of trucks has dwindled.
“Today, I’ve got seven,” Pearlman said. “The last two months have been devastating.”
As the president of the Congressional Seafood Company, Pearlman has witnessed the growing popularity of seafood around Maryland and surrounding areas since beginning operations in 1996.
But with the company mainly doing business with high-end restaurants, hotels, and caterers, the economic downturn this year has brought things to a crawl.
“It’s heartbreaking, it’s scary, I’m certainly nervous for the future,” Pearlman said. “Where a restaurant used to maybe spend $1,000 or $1,500 on seafood for their daily allowance, now they have two items that they’re offering carry-out on.”