Cedar Rapids Today

Iowa's food industry is beginning to reopen and recover, but restaurants will continue to suffer from losses, the Iowa Restaurant Association told CBS 2 Iowa. 

"We expect on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis that we will have lost 1,000 restaurants and bars across the state permanently," Iowa Restaurant Association President Jessica Dunker told CBS.

While many restaurants were able to survive the shutdown, others had to permanently close. Some are struggling to stay open under the new restrictions as well. 

"Nobody has built a profit model based on 50% capacity and so unless restaurants are able to both use the 50% capacity and continue carry out, delivery and drive thru the way they've been able to do it, they still won't be making enough money even to break even," Dunker said.

If restaurants are struggling with dine-in, Dunker told CBS that they can use any type of service that helps them survive, such as carry out and delivery.