The unemployment rate for the McLean County area labor market may have been 5.1% last month, but it’s a lot lower in certain job sectors. Restaurants, for instance, have had difficulty finding enough people to staff operations.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has forced restaurants to temporarily close, but the growers who provide chefs with fresh produce are still harvesting and putting food on the table.
Gov. JB Pritzker's decision to close bars and restaurants for the next two weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was just the latest in a series of developments that have upended the food service industry in Illinois in recent days.
The grand opening of Bakery & Pickle, Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group’s newest venture, is right around the corner. The private dinner club is unlike any other in Bloomington-Normal, transforming into a speakeasy-style bar after hours.
It’s the noon hour on a warm, sunny spring day in downtown Bloomington. Cars and buses move along Front Street. Delivery trucks unload their contents on side streets.
