Return-to-office has settled. Is this as good as it gets for downtown?

Mitchell Baratz had his hopes up when he learned Amazon was bringing office workers back five days a week. He got even more excited when JPMorgan Chase said it would do something similar .

Milk Street Cafe’s chief operating officer thought other big employers in Boston would follow. Nine months later, few if any have done so.

So Baratz is still waiting for that next wave of workers . Midweek sales and catering volume at the cafe, a block from Post Office Square, are about three-quarters of prepandemic levels, slower on Mondays, and dismal on Fridays. Weekly revenue is around 60 percent of prepandemic levels. As a result, his staff is down to 55 from 75 six years ago.

“We thought Amazon was the first domino,” Baratz said. “But then, not really. . . . We would love to have more bu