The past few weeks have offered restaurant workers a terrifying glimpse of what’s to come in a world that’s growing rapidly warmer.

“It’s horrible,” said “Chopped” winner Sammy Davis Jr., who opened Yebo Kitchen, an African-Asian fusion restaurant, this spring. The scorching temperatures have forced him to close the two patios at his Old Goucher restaurant, previously home to Church, and he’s lost out on more than a quarter of his expected revenue.

More troubling for Davis is the sweltering open kitchen, which sits in the middle of the restaurant. Hood vents designed to suck out smoke from the stove also remove cold air from the A/C. The thermostat can rise above 110 degrees. Just this week, the chef went to the hospital after almost fainting on the job. “This heat right here is not like anything I’ve seen before,” said the chef, who’s spent 30 years in kitchens in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.

On the heels of the pandemic, restaurateurs have invested heavily in outdoor dining, in some cases overhauling their business models to accommodate people who prefer eating al fresco. But rising record temperatures that have hit Baltimore and much of the United States have made it simply too hot to eat outside. And restaurant workers like Davis are often at increased risk of heat-related illnesses.

Concerns about heat and labor have made their way to the federal government. The U.S. Department of Labor this month proposed new requirements to force workplaces to offer drinking water, rest breaks and other accommodations when the weather turns brutal. “Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heat stroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker in a statement.

During the pandemic, SoBo Cafe installed a “parklet” just outside the Federal Hill restaurant. “Obviously nobody’s sitting outside in the heat, which definitely impacts business,” said owner Anna Leventis. Fortunately, she’s seen a boost in another area: Grubhub orders, which are usually slower in the summer, are up in recent weeks.

For Leventis, it’s tough to distinguish the impact of the heat from the usual summer slowdown in Baltimore. To offset that, SoBo Cafe will participate in Baltimore’s Restaurant Week, which starts Friday. The twice-a-year promotion, which has counterparts in Baltimore and Howard counties, is meant to drum up interest during the sleepy season.

But Lionel Campoz says this year’s drop in business has been far and above the usual seasonal doldrums. Sales at his Elkridge spot, El Sopon Mexican Food Truck, have dropped by almost half since the start of the recent heat wave. “If people don’t go out because it’s too hot, then we have to shut down,” he said.

When Hampden Yards first opened early last year, the all-outdoor cocktail spot and beer garden just off West 36th Street drew diners from the suburbs and across the city. But sales are way down this summer, said operations manager Shaun Stewart. “The heat’s been kind of the worst for us,” he said. “We live and die by weather. If the weather is 65 to 85 degrees, our place is fantastic.” Any hotter than that, though, and “people don’t feel safe coming outside.”

To help cool things down, Hampden Yards has installed a roof and added fans and misters. Stewart is also brainstorming beverages that can entice customers on even the hottest days, including lighter beers such as kölsches and pilsners, and frozen cocktails, like frosé and piña coladas, made with a high-tech soft serve machine.

Another post-pandemic holdover, QR codes in place of traditional menus, make it easy for Stewart to adapt, offering drink specials or discounts at certain hours of day. His biggest concern, though, is that the heat will be so extreme it could cause the bar’s internet to malfunction. “We’re really reliant on internet and Wi-Fi,” he said.

If restaurateurs are looking for a silver lining to rising global temperatures, it could be an extension of patio season into late fall. If it stays warm enough, Hampden Yards, which opened in March this year, could stay open until November.

Davis isn’t leaving outdoor seating up to the elements at Yebo Kitchen, though. He is planning to enclose the restaurant’s patios in glass and add AC.

“I guess this is a global pandemic,” he said of the heat. “It’s going to be happening for years to come.”