When Remedy Cafe first opened its downtown location in 2013, owner Zee Zaidi described it as the “golden time.”

It lasted for a number of years, but then COVID hit — forcing thousands of people to work from home.

It was more than just a safety measure. Over time a cultural shift occurred, as many people grew to realize they could do their jobs remotely and preferred the home office to the daily commute into a workplace, and all the related costs of leaving the home.

Zaidi hoped for change when people started to return to the office, but said that hope was lost as city workers stayed home many days of the week.

About 3,000 employees that would have been downtown full-time are now working a hybrid model, spending some days at home and others going into the office.

“We always used to g

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