Last week, bars, restaurants, cafes and pizzerias across Italy threw open their doors, inviting the public to celebrate the end of two months of confinement and start getting back to some semblance of normal life.

The result, so far, has been a disaster.

Customers have been in short supply, proceeds have been meager, and costs are on the rise. Businesses have reported a 70% drop in turnover compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by FIPE, the Italian Federation of Public Establishments the result of new social distancing requirements as well as lingering fears about the virus spread.

Business owners see little hope of the situation improving anytime soon. There are no tourists in the historic centers of major cities, and many office workers are continuing to work from home, leaving cafes and restaurants mostly empty.

Moreover, the coronavirus seems to have fundamentally changed the Italian lifestyle at least for now. With establishments forced to limit capacity , its difficult for people to imagine having the kind of leisurely, convivial lunches and dinners that have long characterized the Italian way of dining out.

Unfortunately, the short to medium term outlook is negative, there is no doubt about it, Luciano Sbraga, FIPEs deputy director, told HuffPost Italy . We expect to see an improvement in September and into the fall.

Even then, however, any increase in economic activity could quickly be undone by a second wave of coronavirus infections.

This is the real danger, Sbraga said. It would be the final blow to the industry, and one from which we would never recover.