Is The Power Lunch Passe?

 One of the most intriguing things about business history is the power lunch.It was a great way of brokering deals over good food and drinks at fancy restaurants. Yet is it relevant, especially in these post pandemic days?

Regular contributor Brett Anderson explored this in today's New York Times Food section.Power lunches usually lasted from twelve noon to almost three PM,Many used it as a chance to work and socialize, as they had for decades.Then came the pandemic which upended the restaurant industry. The business lunch was one of the first victims.There was continued uncertainty as workers left and customers fled. Most high end eateries are struggling, especially in cities that experienced record job growth after the Great Recession of 2008. That stimulation triggered the opening of many restaurants in cities across the country. Now workers are either working fully from home or spending one or two days in the office. They're not thinking of power lunches, Mostly it;s salad or take out at home, in front of their computer screens.There's also the rising cost of food that's also a factor and paying chefs twenty-five dollars an hour as Mitch and Steve Rosenthal have done with their San Francisco restaurant Town Hall.

Prices are high, especially in expensive cities like Manhattan.Even though the famed Le Bernardin has been filled to capacity every lunch hour for weeks, it still is $120 for  a prix fixe meal.  Lunches haven't resumed at other high class New York places such as Per Se, Eleven Madison Park and Jean-Georges.It does take work as chef Greg Higgins has found out at his namesake restaurant in downtown Portland Oregon. However it's changing in the suburbs. The Detroit  area businesses run by Sami Eid's family are thriving.His family restaurant Phoenicia a Lebanese eatery in Birmingham, Michigan opened as quickly as possible when it was OK to . However his restaurant Leila, a mere three blocks from the Quicken Loans Detroit headquarters didn't do well. Smaller places do better.People are reconnecting but at a slower place however as one restaurant owner, Ahmass Fakahany has noticed at his Manhattan place, Marea. They're looking at lunch to deepen relationships.It's more of a social impact lunch.

The power lunch may be taking a break.It may come back but in a different way. Workers still have to eat , deals still have to be made. but maybe in a whole new way,