Essential, overlooked and ‘tough’: Philly’s bodegas are fighting for survival

Philadelphia’s restaurant scene is rebounding after nearly two grueling years of pandemic uncertainty.

Forty-five of the 594 Black-owned Philly businesses listed in a local directory in 2020 have since closed, either temporarily or permanently — a decline of about 8%.

Black and Latinx business owners have been hit harder by the pandemic than their white counterparts, but have been less likely to receive federal aid.