The reality has not yet sunk in for Pepe Diaz that the beloved deli he ran with his brother for more than 30 years is permanently shut.
“The camaraderie with all the students and the regular customers, I miss all that,” he said, outside Howard Deli in Washington.
Before the pandemic, the shop had been a lively neighborhood hangout. But sales plummeted without the foot traffic of students from Howard University and the local high school.
Making matters worse, Diaz’s brother Kenny Gilmore suffered several strokes. With bills piling up, the brothers closed the deli in January.
“This had to be the worst. Everything else we weathered through,” Diaz said of the pandemic.
Howard Deli is not alone.
By the end of 2020, about 17% of all U.S. restaurants – about 110,000 – had closed long term or shuttered for good, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Matt Strickland is determined that…