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I also wonder the impact it'll have on retail and lunch places. A lot of small restaurants popped up around places with a lot of office workers. If those off

I also wonder the impact it'll have on retail and lunch places. A lot of small restaurants popped up around places with a lot of office workers. If those office workers are all WFH now, the previously desirable restaurant locations will become semi-worthless. On top of that, my guess is that WFH people will go out for lunch less often, so those restaurants won't just relocate to more residential areas, they (and their jobs), will just disappear.

zrail 6y ago
The restaurant owners who really want to make it work will hustle into delivery out of more affordable commercial kitchen space. If WFH sticks I won’t be surprised to see more commercial kitchens opening closer to residential areas.
- __s 6y ago
  This could be nice. Often observed restaurants struggling around residential areas. WFH could help support more heterogeneous zoning, which would also reduce needing to own a car or use public transit
jfoster 6y ago
Would it be those ones that suffer? If some existing companies depart a central area, isn't it more likely that others would replace them in that area, rather than a geographically uniform reduction in occupancy?
tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
OTOH, isn't it pretty customary for any large office (let's say 1k+) to have a cafeteria, with presumably most employees eating there? Some of these will not want to cook lunch in the middle of work, and at least order takeout instead.
- fzzzy 6y ago
  Yes, this is quite likely, but this is a titanic shift in the real estate market. Previously, you wanted a flashy storefront to attract customers so you put your kitchen in a fancy area. Now, you just need a kitchen on a back alley where delivery drivers can easily pull in to pick up their orders. I actually think it might cause a more efficient use of space overall. Lots of strip malls and even regular malls around the country are going to be converted into housing. If almost everybody does almost everything through delivery, there's no need to spend the money on prime real estate and extensive signage, which is very expensive.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    >Lots of strip malls and even regular malls around the country are going to be converted into housing Unlikely. Most "dead malls" are in suburban and rural locations, often depressed. Maybe there will be some housing development in the acreage but they're mostly in areas where land is relatively plentiful and cheap. Dying malls aren't going to open up prime real estate because retail in prime real estate is mostly still doing pretty well.
- bpicolo 6y ago
  > with presumably most employees eating there I think this is a pretty big/new tech specific thing, and there are still exemptions. Of the large non-tech companies in NYC, I know a few banks have cafeterias, but the food is both not free and not good
  - claudeganon 6y ago
    In Japan, it’s far more common, even for much smaller companies. There’s a great Japanese TV show that does mini documentaries on these places (and others where workers eat) called, “Sara Meshi” (サラメシ) https://www.nhk.jp/p/salameshi/ts/PVPP6PZNLG/ https://www.nhk.jp/p/salameshi/ts/PVPP6PZNLG/
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
    The cafes being free and good is probably a big tech thing, but cafeterias (paid, and... well, cafeteria-grade) certainly aren't uncommon in Germany. If your company doesn't have one, chances are they have a deal with another company in the same building/complex that does.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Making a sandwich or soup for lunch is not a big deal. And probably the vast majority of urban offices do not have cafeterias and people go out to eat (if they didn't bring something from home).
- peruvian 6y ago
  It's not as common as you might think nor is it always free or affordable. In NYC, the Sweetgreen/Dig Inn/etc. type places in areas with offices are packed from 12pm to 3pm every weekday. It's a huge market for them.
marcosdumay 6y ago
That's a different market. If 10% of the people keep WFH after the pandemics, that means real state prices will plummet. But restaurants will see a 10% decrease on revenue.
vharuck 6y ago
Might be a chance for diners or other restaurants to offer meeting rooms. They could charge less than coworking spaces and make up the difference in food and drink sales.

zrail 6y ago

The restaurant owners who really want to make it work will hustle into delivery out of more affordable commercial kitchen space. If WFH sticks I won’t be surprised to see more commercial kitchens opening closer to residential areas.

__s 6y ago
This could be nice. Often observed restaurants struggling around residential areas. WFH could help support more heterogeneous zoning, which would also reduce needing to own a car or use public transit

jfoster 6y ago

Would it be those ones that suffer? If some existing companies depart a central area, isn't it more likely that others would replace them in that area, rather than a geographically uniform reduction in occupancy?

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago

OTOH, isn't it pretty customary for any large office (let's say 1k+) to have a cafeteria, with presumably most employees eating there? Some of these will not want to cook lunch in the middle of work, and at least order takeout instead.

fzzzy 6y ago
Yes, this is quite likely, but this is a titanic shift in the real estate market. Previously, you wanted a flashy storefront to attract customers so you put your kitchen in a fancy area. Now, you just need a kitchen on a back alley where delivery drivers can easily pull in to pick up their orders. I actually think it might cause a more efficient use of space overall. Lots of strip malls and even regular malls around the country are going to be converted into housing. If almost everybody does almost everything through delivery, there's no need to spend the money on prime real estate and extensive signage, which is very expensive.
- ghaff 6y ago
  >Lots of strip malls and even regular malls around the country are going to be converted into housing Unlikely. Most "dead malls" are in suburban and rural locations, often depressed. Maybe there will be some housing development in the acreage but they're mostly in areas where land is relatively plentiful and cheap. Dying malls aren't going to open up prime real estate because retail in prime real estate is mostly still doing pretty well.
bpicolo 6y ago
> with presumably most employees eating there I think this is a pretty big/new tech specific thing, and there are still exemptions. Of the large non-tech companies in NYC, I know a few banks have cafeterias, but the food is both not free and not good
- claudeganon 6y ago
  In Japan, it’s far more common, even for much smaller companies. There’s a great Japanese TV show that does mini documentaries on these places (and others where workers eat) called, “Sara Meshi” (サラメシ) https://www.nhk.jp/p/salameshi/ts/PVPP6PZNLG/ https://www.nhk.jp/p/salameshi/ts/PVPP6PZNLG/
- tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
  The cafes being free and good is probably a big tech thing, but cafeterias (paid, and... well, cafeteria-grade) certainly aren't uncommon in Germany. If your company doesn't have one, chances are they have a deal with another company in the same building/complex that does.
ghaff 6y ago
Making a sandwich or soup for lunch is not a big deal. And probably the vast majority of urban offices do not have cafeterias and people go out to eat (if they didn't bring something from home).
peruvian 6y ago
It's not as common as you might think nor is it always free or affordable. In NYC, the Sweetgreen/Dig Inn/etc. type places in areas with offices are packed from 12pm to 3pm every weekday. It's a huge market for them.

marcosdumay 6y ago

That's a different market. If 10% of the people keep WFH after the pandemics, that means real state prices will plummet. But restaurants will see a 10% decrease on revenue.

vharuck 6y ago

Might be a chance for diners or other restaurants to offer meeting rooms. They could charge less than coworking spaces and make up the difference in food and drink sales.