Consumers are hungry for mozzarella, and operators are ready to satisfy their appetite. According to Datassential, 76% of restaurants feature traditional mozzarella as a menu mainstay; another 11% offer it as a seasonal item or special. When it comes to fresh mozzarella, 41% offer it all the time, and 24% do so on a limited basis.

It’s interesting to know how mozzarella is made. For the industry, however, what’s even more compelling is how mozzarella is consumed.

Its history in Italy and the United States underscores an important fact about mozzarella cheese: Although they all share the name “mozzarella,” there are actually several different varieties of the beloved Italian cheese, each with its own unique characteristics.

By summer, after shelter-in-place guidelines were lifted, indoor dining had resumed around the country (with restrictions varying by state). But with infection rates rising, a number of regions are again significantly restricting or shuttering dine-in service, forcing many restaurant operators to focus on outdoor dining as an alternative.

Holiday celebrations will look and feel different for most people this year due to the pandemic and evolving restrictions in many U.S. states and around the world. Smaller family gatherings, fewer (if any) restaurant buffets and other eating-related adjustments won’t stop people from enjoying their favorite traditional holiday foods—including macaroni and cheese, gratins and other rich, satisfying dishes—however.

How can operators alleviate consumer concerns over returning to restaurant dining? Learn more here:

People are relishing normalcy wherever they can find it these days. For some, that means sipping a fruity drink under a patio umbrella at a restaurant that not very long ago wasn’t open for in-person dining. Although the signs of the coronavirus are ever-present—waiters wearing masks, tables spaced 6 feet apart—diners once again have the ability to eat a meal they didn’t cook themselves, surrounded by more than just the people they live with.

Few industries have been hit as hard by the coronavirus pandemic as the foodservice industry. The statistics are staggering: the National Restaurant Association estimates that 8 million restaurant workers have been laid off or furloughed since the crisis began—and that the industry will lose $240 billion in revenue by year’s end.