/ Carlos Mortera stands outside on the patio of the new location for Poi-O. It has a drive-through. When these business owners hung closed signs on their doors, they didn't know if reopening day would come. Now Poi-O, Julep and Westside Local are flinging the doors back open, with the last year written all over some major transformations. For more stories like this one, subscribe to Real Humans on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Back in December, I wrote a love letter to the restaurants that had closed by that point in the pandemic, noting that many were in a state of limbo. They'd made the difficult decision to close for the winter. Bank accounts were depleted. Patios had closed. Holiday parties weren't happening. Keeping a sign on the door until spring was a last-ditch hope.