9 Hopes for the San Francisco-Bay Area Restaurant Scene in 2022

Welcome to Year in Eater 2021, Eater’s annual tradition of celebrating the past 12 months with help from some of the Bay Area’s top food writers. Between now and end of the year, Eater SF will post daily questions about the Bay Area restaurant scene with answers from those who know it best.

More opportunities, more equity, more creativity, more critical thinking, less Covid. — Benjy Egel, food and drink reporter, The Sacramento Bee

Less hate, more love. Less divisiveness, more unity. More uplifting and supporting each other. More community, more inclusivity — for restaurants, for everyone. — Omar Mamoon, writer, Esquire

HEALTH. Work/life balance, a prioritization of mental health, plus more worker-owned cooperatives, more BIPOC-owned (and well-funded) businesses, more stability, less delivery, less waste. — Marcia Gagliardi, founder/editor of tablehopper.com

Equity in the workplace and more female and BIPOC executive chefs. — Jessica Yadegaran, food and dining writer, The Mercury News and East Bay Times

An end to the pandemic! — Esther Mobley, senior wine critic, San Francisco Chronicle

That there’d be a lot fewer toxic workplaces; that the places run by kind, decent, forward-thinking folks (who also cook delicious food) would be the ones that thrive; and that the Bay Area’s many amazing immigrant food enclaves would emerge from this pandemic stronger and better than ever. — Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED

In 2022, I hope staffing issues subside and that we have far less bar and restaurant closures. — Susana Guerrero, reporter, SFGATE

I hope we’re done with closing and reopening and changing service styles, and that restaurants can get open and stay open and focus on what they love to do – put out the amazing food that makes San Francisco a dining destination. — Becky Duffett, deputy editor, Eater SF

Hardy Wilson

I hope we see the pandemic subside so restaurants can stop surviving and truly start to thrive. But if we can’t have that, I would at least love to see more fancy potatoes. What a great trend. — Lauren Saria, editor, Eater SF