Restaurants made big changes to cope with the pandemic. Lots of them have stuck.

• Restaurants made big changes during the pandemic to minimize the spread of COVID.
• Some of these changes have stuck, like QR code menus, higher cleaning standards, and more takeout.
• The hospitality industry has a history of adopting health measures from past epidemics.

Dining, as we once knew it, changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some things seem pretty unlikely to go back to how they once were.

In March 2020, America’s restaurants were in despair. State after state introduced lockdowns, banning large groups of people and temporarily shutting eateries.

When they started to reopen, new measures were put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Many of the health codes restaurants observe now — sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces, maintaining hot water standards and stocked hand wash sinks — were developed during and after the 1918 flu epidemic,” Mary King, a former restaurant manager and current editor of The Restaurant HQ, said.

“So it makes sense that COVID-19 would leave a lasting legacy on the hospitality industry,” she added.

Here is a list of a few of the changes which stuck.