The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
Takeout containers and boxes sit unused in the garage of senior Yein Ahn. Her family’s sushi restaurant, 153 Sushi, went out of business in March 2024. Like many restaurants, Ahn’s family experienced the struggle of the restaurant business amidst the lasting economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business teacher Andy Croley has been teaching his classes about these modern challenges restaurants face trying to adapt to the rapidly changing economy and market. “[The food industry is] super competitive. There are restaurants everywhere you go, so they have to figure out what niche they're going to fill. Then, just like us as consumers, right now at home, where our prices are going, prices [for restaurants] are continuously going up as well. Inflation would definitely be a factor for people as well, because with inflation, [restaurants] are also seeing rising costs in their lease or their rent, electricity and all across the board,” Croley said.

An empty table

Yein Ahn, Editor-In-Chief • May 15, 2026

On March 31, 2024, my family closed down 153 Sushi, the restaurant that we had owned for eight years. The business had survived the early years of operation, a five-year period in which nearly half of...

Teacher Andrew Van Herik protests outside Chicago Public Schools headquarters July 22.

Podcast: COVID-19 and America’s teacher crisis

Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief • July 29, 2020

The vast majority of Americans believe teachers don’t receive the respect—or pay—they deserve, but that won’t stop the U.S. from forcing educators to work in potential COVID-19 hotspots with barebones...