Business in the evenings and on weekends helps, but "their bread and butter" comes from the day-to-day foot traffic of workers over the noon hour, said Greg Edwards, CEO of Catch Des Moines. And that has yet to return in a substantial way. To see the stark effect of the pandemic, visit Local Bites on a weekday at lunch. At its peak, the counter-service food court at 700 Locust St. saw 1,200 people come through each day, patronizing vendors offering options ranging from Chinese to Mexican to burgers. Today, it's lucky to see 120, said Jesse Bunney, director of operations. "It's abysmal," he said.