Takeout has always been a convenient way to get restaurant quality food at home; since COVID-19 this method has become increasingly more popular from both a business and consumer perspective due to social distancing and current health conditions. Now that COVID-19 restrictions have relaxed it can be wondered if people would still prefer dining in over takeout and if restaurants are really as safe to eat in as one might think.

When asked about her opinions on the issue, 17 year old CKHS student Zeriah Ortiz stated that she prefers takeout. “It’s just better,” she says. Ortiz was also vocal about her concerns regarding the health and safety in current restaurants. “My dad works in Hvac so he works on AC and Refrigerators in restaurants and stuff so I’ve heard horror stories about how some restaurants do not keep their stations clean and now we have a list of restaurants we avoid.”

Ortiz isn’t the only person concerned about the current health conditions in restaurants. 17 year old Cam Lineberry has very strong opinions on the issue.  

“We are not out of the pandemic, we’re nowhere near out of the pandemic. It’s still raging and not enough people are vaccinated so I don’t think it’s safe to have restaurants open,” Lineberry said. Lineberry further stated that they believe that all dine in options should be closed down for now.

Interestingly enough, both sources stated that once things have returned to normal, they would still prefer getting takeout over the traditional dine in experience. They both mentioned how they greatly preferred the comfort of eating at home over going to an actual restaurant even health concerns notwithstanding. 

“I don’t have to be formal or anything, I can just sit down wherever and eat and not have to worry about other people bothering me or getting me sick,” Lineberry said. 

Ortiz also expressed a similar idea. “For me personally, it’s weird eating in front of people, I feel like they’re all watching me,” she says.

This opinion being the more popular one begs the question, how will restaurants begin to function in the near future? Will they switch to a more modern approach capitalizing on the popularity of takeout or will they stick to the more traditional dine in style we’re all so familiar with?