No one wants to be stuck in the middle, especially if you’re a restaurant. That’s why closures are coming fast and furious—not fast food, not fine dining, but that sweet spot in between.
These weren’t just places to grab a meal. They were our third places—not work, not home, but where life happened. The spot where you’d clink glasses after a promotion, linger over pie, or bump into an old friend.
Both mom-and-pop shops and chains like TGI Fridays, Denny’s, and Applebee’s have suffered in this post-COVID-19 crisis. Now the booths and barstools sit empty. The neon signs are dark. The middle is disappearing, and with it, a piece of our social fabric.
Without these third places, what’s left? For most people, it’s a quick bite in our cars. That’s why most McDonald’s now designate parking spots for drive-thru customers, by the way.
Here’s the thing: We need those in-between spaces. They’re where you can just be. They’re where connections form—a laugh with a server, a nod to a regular, a first date that leads to forever. When we lose them, we lose more than just convenience. We lose community.
So why is the middle struggling? Rising costs? Changing habits? Or have we forgotten how good it feels to sit at a sticky table with a basket of fries and talk with a friend until they kick us out?
Boy, those were the days.
What’s your take? Are you still going out, or have these places priced themselves out of your routine? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.
On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.
Share this post