By Adam Pagnucco.
The pandemic’s effect on the restaurant industry played out in two years for which we have data: 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, MoCo restaurants lost employment and wages at similar rates to regional averages but lost a greater number of restaurants than other large jurisdictions in the region. In 2021, a rebound year, MoCo lagged the region on all three indicators and lost an even larger number of restaurants than in 2020. Let’s examine the combined impact of both years.
Establishment Count
Between 2019 and 2021, the number of restaurants in Montgomery County fell from 1.692 to 1,621, a net loss of 71 restaurants. Montgomery, Frederick and Howard counties were the only large jurisdictions in the region to lose restaurants in both 2020 and 2021. Here’s how MoCo’s net loss of 4.2% of its restaurants compares to its peers.
Employment
Between 2019 and 2021, restaurant employment in Montgomery County fell from 29,795 to 24,487, a net loss of 5,308 jobs. Here’s how the county’s net loss of 18% of its restaurant jobs compares to other large jurisdictions in the region.
Total Wages Paid
Between 2019 and 2021, total wages paid in Montgomery County’s restaurant industry fell from $700 million to $660 million, a net loss of $40 million. Here’s how the county’s net loss of 6% of restaurant wages compares to other large jurisdictions in the region.
On all three measures, MoCo’s restaurant industry suffered more than those of most other peer jurisdictions. MoCo fared a little better on wages paid than the regional average only because D.C.’s restaurant industry, the biggest in the region, saw a terrible bloodletting resulting from the collapse in tourism. MoCo’s loss in number of restaurants was worse than any of its large peers.
This series does not prove that the Montgomery County government’s COVID restrictions caused these losses, but the data shows that MoCo’s restaurant industry experienced disproportionate losses for whatever reason. MoCo restaurant owners have a case to make for deserving county attention and assistance. We will conclude with a look at how the county’s current restaurant picture compares with the rest of the region in Part Five.