Pandemic restaurant closures (2020-2021)
COVID-19 forced dine-in restaurants to shut down nationwide. Tens of thousands of U.S. restaurants closed permanently, and Chicago's Chinatown lost several long-running spots, shrinking the city's already-thin late-night options.
Many restaurants never reopened; survivors leaned on delivery and shorter hours.
Late-night dine-in became scarcer, making surviving late kitchens more distinctive.
Chi Cafe kept its late hours and now appears to be adding a location, running against that contraction.
