It was supposed to be different, 2021. Which is to say it wasn’t supposed to be different, not the way 2020 was. It was meant to be the way things used to be. And for a time it was. We were able to get back to dining inside, new restaurants opened and some, of course, closed. But there were fewer closings this past year than in the previous year, which, even at the height of the pandemic had a more or less normal number go out of business.

Now, here at the end of ’21, things are looking iffy again. Maybe it’s just a case of two steps forward, one step backward – a temporary blip on the road to recovery. We’ll know soon.

In the meantime, let’s take a look back at past year’s reviews, notable openings, notable closings, trends, transitions and what’s to come.