one expert is reimagining the future of dining, and that is jon taffer.y popular show. stay tuned for that conversation next. this is bloomberg. ♪ emily: 250,000 americans have now died of covid-19. restaurants across the country continuing to shut down. new york city closing its public schools as of tomorrow. we are joined by jon taffer, hospitality expert and host of "bar rescue," known for -- failing restaurants and pubs. you have just opened a new restaurant. how are you opening a restaurant and addressing all of these challenges? jon: we started creating taffer's tavern two years ago when unemployment was so low that the restaurant industry could not find employees. that is how much things have changed. we had an industry-wide issue with finding employees. we went on a quest to change the casual dining model with computerized cooking systems and creating a kitchen of the future. that is how we started. when covid came about a year ago , we realized we have the safest kitchen in the world because it has virtually no contact. it is computerized and hig

bar rescue guy, jon taffer is here. what's he up to?e of a pandemic? and it's restrictions for you but not for me. another democrat official caught break their own rules. larry elder calling out california governor gavin newsom. we'll be back. ♪ under pressure -- ♪ ♪ it was in this small little village- in connemara. right! connemara it is! there's one gift the whole family can share this holiday season, their story. give the gift of discovery, with an ancestrydna kit. ♪ jolene, jolene, jolene. ♪ i'm begging of you, don't take my man ♪ stuart: why are we playing dolly parton? there really is a very, very good reason for it. this is real good stuff. she reportedly helped fund moderna's virus vaccine. the country music star donated a million dollars to researchers at vanderbilt university, and she helped create that moderna vaccine. the stock is down, so what? she, dolly parton -- great lady -- >> incredible. stuart: she's a remarkable woman. interviewed her a couple of times. >> oh! stuart: she's a great lady. >> what a great entrepreneu

that was jon taffer, hospitality expert, outlining his optimism for the restaurant industry.lity, one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, has seen a slow recovery from pre-pandemic levels and has been increasingly threatened by the uptick in virus levels and restrictions. is it as bad as it seems? joining us is jared isaacman, ceo of shift4 payments, the leading payment operator for the hotel and restaurant industry. great to have you on the program. how has the decline in business been for you given the exposure to restaurants and the hospitality sector? jared: thanks for having me. hearing jon taffer before, we have collaborated with him for a long time, and i share his optimism. after the vaccine, people are going out to dinner. shift4 processes payments for businesses across the country, in better times about $200 billion of payments. a large portion of that lives in restaurants and hotels. in late march the industry was entirely crushed, as was virtually all present commerce in the u.s. outside of a supermarket. payment levels dropped close to 80% from pre-co

before, we taffer have collaborated him -- collaborated with him for a long time, and i share his optimismthe vaccine, people are going out to dinner. shift4 processes payments for businesses across the country, in better times about $200 billion of payments. a large portion of that lives in restaurants and hotels. march the industry was entirely crushed, as was virtually all present commerce in the u.s. outside of a supermarket. payment levels dropped close to 80% from pre-covid levels. there has been a very steady recovery. did almost started immediately in april, mostly because people have to eat. they were not eating in restaurants, they were doing takeout, delivery, and curbside. hats off to small business commerce for adapting. they did a great job. that has continued to accelerate. of late, november, cooler temperatures, warmer weather states are faring better in maintaining strong levels, whereas urban areas in cities like new york city would have seen some sort of decline as temperatures got lower. in terms of broader recovery, shift4 had year-over-year increases in payment volume