Restaurants in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are being ordered to shut down "until further notice," the states' three governors jointly announced.
Beginning tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, all eating establishments will only be able to offer takeout and delivery options. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also called on the federal government to coordinate closings of restaurants and other areas of public accommodation across the country.
Image source: Getty Images.
Still a scattershot effort
By working together to establish these new rules, Cuomo says the states eliminate the possibility of customers crossing state lines to find open restaurants or more lenient circumstances.
"We have agreed to a common set of rules that will pertain in all of our states, so don't even think about going to a neighboring state because there's going to be a different set of conditions," he said.
While family style restaurants like Darden Restaurants' (DRI 0.14%) Olive Garden have takeout dining and delivery options, fine dining chains like Ruth's Chris Steak House (RUTH) may have a more difficult time, as takeout and delivery are not how most people would want to experience their food, if it's even available.
Presumably, fast food chains like McDonald's (MCD 0.37%) and fast-casual operations such as Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG -1.34%) shouldn't be affected by the ban as the drive-thru is one of their primary sources of revenue and the walk-up counter is pretty much a takeout option already.
Third-party delivery apps like Grubhub (GRUB) and DoorDash also ought to see a jump in business, though Grubhub just announced it was waiving about $100 million in fees it normally charges to restaurants.
