Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTNina ZdinjakSat, August 1, 2026 at 10:51 PM GMT+2 5 min readWhile working from home might be a dream for employees, for downtown restaurant operators it's a financial gut punch. As more workers move to a hybrid schedule, coffee shops, fast-food spots, and casual dining chains lose the customer base that previously justified five-day downtown leases. "For businesses, it's death by a thousand paper cuts. It's not the loss of any one customer, but thousands of them visiting less often," points out TheStreet's co-editor in chief, Daniel Kline. Nearly 28% of workdays remained remote in September 2024, suggesting lunch spending partly moves out of financial centers and into suburban strip centers, according to research from