Written by Anita Wadhwani

Published by Tennessee Lookout

Between March 1 and July 10, 1,959 businesses in Tennessee have shut down in response to the pandemic — with 1,120 reporting their closures are permanent, according to data compiled by the business-rating site Yelp.

In the Nashville-Franklin-Murfreesboro metro areas collectively saw at least 410 business close for good, Yelp reported. An additional 331 have reported they remain temporarily closed. Among those permanently going out of business are 98 restaurants and 69 retail stores.

State and federal pandemic relief programs have provided financial relief to small and large companies across Tennessee but as the crisis has persisted and state and local mandates have restricted access to restaurants and bars in some cities, many business owners have not been able to stay afloat.

Across the nation, more than half of businesses that temporarily shuttered to ride out the pandemic have since closed permanently between March 1 and July 10.