The C-E-O of the Iowa Restaurant Association says updated information suggests fewer restaurants and bars in Iowa have closed during the pandemic than was expected. Jessica Dunker says initial estimates indicated about a thousand restaurants and bars in Iowa that were operating in March of 2020 would close. The projections now is closer to 700.

Dunker says one of the factors is that many of the employees who were laid off a year ago when Iowa restaurants and bars were shut down because of the pandemic are not returning.

Dunker made her comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.