Some New York City restaurants have taken to adding frozen meals and entrees to their takeout offerings in a bid to remain viable with restrictions prohibiting indoor dining ostensibly to mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, Fox network affiliate WNYW reported.
Brodo Broth Company founder and chef Marco Canora, who owns four eateries across the city, bills his restaurants as a coffee shop with savory broths.
"2021 is going to be the year for frozen," Canora said.
Restaurants in New York City have been decimated by restrictions limiting or eliminating indoor dining since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. State officials reduced capacity to half on March 12 before banning all indoor dining four days later, but allowing takeout.
It took until early June before city officials unveiled their plan to allow outdoor dining, but by mid-August an estimated 1,000 restaurants had closed.
Indoor dining was permitted at 25% capacity by the end of September but banned again on Dec. 11.
That has several restaurants improvising to stay afloat, including a growing list offering frozen meals, such as Katz's Delicatessen, Juliana's, and Colonia Verde.
"One of the things I love about frozen ... We make a big batch just like my grandmother used to and then you can freeze it for a year or two," Canora said.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.