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Downtown Orlando businesses feeling pinch due to COVID-19 pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. — With fewer businesses open downtown, that means fewer people going out for drinks and dinner after work. And bars and restaurants are feeling the pinch.

And it could be a long time before that money goes back to bartenders and servers.

“Coronavirus

Orange County’s consumer confidence survey showed 57% of people are unlikely to dine at a restaurant in the next three to four weeks.

Read: Recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Orange County linked to workplace break rooms, health officials say

The survey also showed the majority of people prefer businesses that require masks for employees and customers.

But downtown, the concern isn’t just a lack of consumer confidence – it’s the lack of consumers.

However, population growth downtown has made it a bit easier to weather the current economic storm.

Read: Elected officials warn of misinformation as pandemic continues

Since 2000, the number of people living there has grown more than 70%. These residents are more likely to be college graduates with higher-paying, white-collar jobs that allow them to work from home, with the potential for those telecommuting to be a permanent situation.

However, it was the nearly 83,000 downtown workers who were paying the bills for a lot of these restaurants.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.