Restaurants start to cook up a comeback | Morning Newsletter

Good morning from The Inquirer newsroom.

First: Springtime means Philly’s dining industry is hopeful for a restaurant rebound. Here’s why there’s optimism in the air.

Then: Mental health crisis centers and hospital emergency rooms don’t have the capacity for those seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.

And: This could be the impact of the pandemic’s blow to Pa. working mothers for decades to come.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

There’s an encouraging feeling in the air for restaurants now.

Freshly out of options a year ago, many restaurants went into survival mode. They carried on with ingenuity and pluck to squeeze business out of ghost kitchens with takeout and delivery. Balancing health and economic survival, workers put themselves on the front lines to help feed Philly.

And as restaurant rents plummeted, restaurateurs went shopping for commercial real estate deals with an eye toward outdoor dining. Now, restaurants that closed their doors for an uncertain winter instead of opening and closing in fits and starts, are finally reopening. The pandemic may have throttled Center City power lunches, but that means suburban restaurants could get some action with people who work remotely tucking into meals closer to home.

The pressure to return to restaurant dining is heightened, and a night out will not be the same. At least now, there’s different kind of future is in sight.

Read on for reporter Mike Klein’s story on how restaurants are looking at a pandemic recovery.

More people having a mental health crisis are seeking psychiatric care, and centers and hospitals just don’t have enough beds for them all.

Inpatient numbers were down over fears of COVID-19, but not anymore. There’s an increase, and hospitals can’t find enough beds. On top of the drastically slashed bed availability due to the pandemic, Philly’s crisis centers and hospital emergency departments are dealing with placement issues as they sort out testing and quarantining. Some patients looking for treatment for anxiety and depression are even getting turned away.

Reduced capacity has meant that wait time for treatment has ticked way upward. Before the pandemic, the wait time for transfer at the Lenape Valley Foundation crisis center was 16 hours. Now it’s 24 to 48 hours. Beyond delays in care, emergency room tension just compounds anxiety for patients.

Reporter Bethany Ao has the whole story on the shortage of inpatient beds.

For Pa. working mothers, the pandemic upended their relationships with their work and their children and just really burned them out.

Women have been leaving their jobs to manage their children’s lives as the world shifted, and the pandemic dealt the most devastating blows to women of color. It’s not a revelation that women already shouldered the real emotional work of the family household. But never before had there been such a tug of war with school closures and virtual schooling strains pushing long-running tensions over the edge.

The setback is not temporary. These disappearing roles and the women who filled them in some of their optimal earning years could hold women back for decades. In an endeavor to better equalize the work force, some employers have increased paid leave, flextime accommodations, child-care support, or stipends to retain working women.

As we begin year two of the pandemic, Erin Arvedlund has a comprehensive report on what the pandemic really means for working women.

The bright side never looked brighter. Thanks for sharing @justjo1002.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!

“One group can be dismissed, or worse, silenced or managed with a grant or a turn at the news conference lecterns that will never add up to collective change. But it’s a whole hell of a lot harder to ignore an army of city residents who stand to fight together — at the front door of power,” — columnist Helen Ubiñas writes that people in positions of power can’t ignore strength in numbers.

Who can you hug and who can you party with outside the region if you’ve been jabbed with the vaccine? VICE has a full breakdown with some answers.

Let’s stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up and ask them what kind of person they want to be, instead.