6/13/2023 0 Comments Rainbow drive in![]() And he said while ice cream sales actually jumped during the pandemic shutdown in spring 2020, he had to close the dining room for nine weeks. He said he weathered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic without taking advantage of federal assistance programs like the Paycheck Protection Program. Finally, at this stage, enough is enough.” “When you add them all together, I don’t see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. He said even though the eatery became popular with construction crews doing the rehab, the handwriting was on the wall. “And that comes off the top of everything else,” he said. “And in lieu of the current business climate, people will not have enough money to continue to go out and eat.”īoughton estimates the bridge closure shaved off an additional 10-15% of his business. “It’s unsustainable for me to make the same kind of living I did a few years ago,” Boughton said. He said labor costs were rising even before the pandemic due to increased minimum wages. He said while government officials have pegged inflation at around 8%, he believes it’s actually more like 15% for the food industry. “I can’t compete with the corporate chains who offer people so much to work.” “Expenses are through the roof from supplies to labor,” Boughton said. Like Kitchenette in High Falls, which announced it will close Sunday, Boughton blamed The Rainbow Drive-In’s demise on rising labor and supply costs and the lingering fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the second Ulster County restaurant to announce its closure in recent days. Kitchenette in High Falls to close for good on Sunday It also features a large ice cream stand, which he said he might keep open for a bit longer. The restaurant serves up an expansive diner-style menu in a space with a 1950s-style diner that even features an old Edsel grill at the counter. Owner Chuck Boughton said in a phone interview he planned to keep the kitchen at the restaurant through Friday, March 18, at the latest. The Rainbow Drive-In, just across the Rondout Creek Bridge from Kingston’s Rondout Area, will close its doors after 21 years in business.
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