RALEIGH, N.C.—On a Monday morning, employees arrive at Raleigh software firm Pendo and grab coffee at a company-provided bar staffed with baristas. Later, at lunch, Pendo sends them down the street with $15 vouchers to spend at a local food hall, where they can throw axes for fun while ordering lobster, tacos or fish and chips.
In 2020, the pandemic emptied out Raleigh’s central business district. Some downtown businesses kept plywood boards covering their windows for months, after protests following the death of George Floyd sparked vandalism downtown. More than 10,000 tourism jobs were lost in the surrounding county, dealing a major blow to one of the country’s strongest economic regions.
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