NYC Restaurant Innovations From 2020 That Should Continue in 2021

Welcome to Year in Eater 2020, Eater’s annual ritual of eulogizing the past 12 months. In 2020’s final days, Eater NY will be posting questions about New York City’s restaurant scene in the past year, with answers from food writers, photographers, chefs, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, and even a few local legislators who helped to support the industry through this enormously difficult year. Now, we ask: What new pivots or innovative ideas have you seen emerge from the events of 2020 that you hope continue into 2021?

Antonio Reynoso, NYC council member: Prior to this year, restaurants had to go through a lengthy and expensive process to secure a sidewalk cafe permit, which resulted in outdoor seating springing up mostly in affluent neighborhoods. The outdoor dining of 2020 has been accessible to a far greater number of restaurants, providing a boost for businesses and an amenity to all communities across the city and that’s a model I want to preserve.

Keith Powers, NYC council member: We’ll possibly see new co-eating spaces with multiple establishments sharing space. And we’ll see new outdoor dining setups that will be fun and innovative.

Clay Williams, food photographer and co-founder of Black Food Folks: About a decade ago, the “market restaurant” was something of a trend, selling produce, meat, and canned goods up front, with the restaurant in the back. It was a bit of a gimmick that never quite had full buy-in. This year, restaurants went all in, opening up their pantries and selling kitchen items, prepped meals, condiments, and so much else. I think it’s great. It connects me as a consumer to the kitchen, and makes clear the work that the team is doing, not just to cook and plate a dish in a single meal, but all the behind the scenes work sourcing ingredients and making sauces. I hope those stick around.

Tae Yoon, NYC editor, Thrillist: To-go cocktails being a thing! Why weren’t we doing this before?

Emma Orlow, writer for the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Eater: On the whole, I feel incredibly invigorated by the resiliency of hospitality workers who found ways to support themselves via the creation of new pop-ups in an otherwise bleak job market. And, certainly not a new idea — the history of food being used to nourish protestors is longstanding — but all of the pop-ups that developed during the recent wave of protests, both on the ground, and across Instagram, such as with Bakers Against Racism, really defined the year for me. Separately, I frankly love all of the restaurant-turned-general stores!

Fabián von Hauske Valtierra, chef and co-owner of Contra and Wildair: Just being more socially responsible, it was really an amazing thing to be able to cook for people in need when we were working with World Central Kitchen, being able to step out of the common thinking that we are only here to serve customers and seeing that we can have a bigger impact in our own communities.

Victoria Lee, co-founder of non-profit Welcome to Chinatown: Round K, a favorite Chinatown coffee shop, moved out of their Allen Street location due to rising rents and partnered with Reception Bar, a Korean cocktail bar, to share Reception Bar’s space. Round K takes over the space in the daytime since they serve excellent roasted coffee and brunch, while Reception bar starts service in the evening.

Carlina Rivera, NYC council member: Before the pandemic, I was in discussion with local partners to create a Green Dining Zone in my district. I think more restaurants are realizing this is possible. From reducing their energy usage and using technology to replace things like traditional paper menus, to shopping locally and using sustainable ingredients, this has proven to be within our grasp. With support and incentives, it can become our new reality much faster than we had imagined.

Erika Chou, co-owner of restaurants including Wayla and Kimika: Home meal kits is a pivot I quite like because it is an easy way to get people involved in cooking and understanding the process (conceptually and technically) behind what they experience when dining out. It helps foster a deeper appreciation for the restaurants we love.

Melissa McCart, editor of Heated and former Eater NY editor: An emphasis on home cooks or home cooking; more of a spotlight on BIPOC in the restaurant industry; online cooking classes. I have to point out ghost kitchens because it gets under my skin as the most cynical, depressing trend in restaurants ever.

Adam Friedlander, freelance photographer for the New York Times, Eater, etc: It seems like ghost kitchens and apartment-based businesses are popping up more and more; maybe originally out of necessity, but it will be interesting to see what kind of unique ideas come out of shared kitchen spaces and smaller businesses!

Lucas Sin, chef at Junzi Kitchen and Nice Day: From the collaborative cross-cultural Distance Dining dinners that we had the chance to cook over Instagram live to new virtual community spaces like Demi, there’s a good and long-term opportunity to bring people together and keep up a healthy, colorful dialogue about food.