Last year was largely a year of take-out and delivery as far as restaurant businesses were concerned, courtesy of the unchecked COVID-19 pandemic. But as vaccines became widely available across the United States and on-site dining made a comeback, diners returned to restaurants in droves. According to Nation's Restaurant News , there has been consistent sales growth across the restaurant industry for five consecutive months, with the sector as a whole seeing the strongest increase in sales in more than three years. RELATED: 4 Fast-Food Chains With the Biggest Food Poisoning Scandals In History However, customers have returned to severely understaffed restaurants. Across the industry, from all types and levels of establishment, fast food to fine dining, casual restaurants to resorts, the American food service industry is experiencing a marked and ongoing labor shortage . And with a lack of staff comes a problem with cleanliness. Recent data has found a precipitous 13% drop in c