$120B Aid Bill Needed to Help Restaurants Survive
Lawmakers say. Restaurants and catering halls on Long Island and across the country will need “powerful” government aid to survive, lawmakers said Monday at a Zoom town hall to introduce details of a bill that would offer $120 billion in grants to the industry. The Real Economic Support that Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act of 2020, introduced last month by fellow Democrat Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, is designed to help independent restaurants. National chain restaurants would not be eligible. Blumenaur put the grim numbers in a national perspective: “Nationwide independent restaurants employ more than 11 million people and in April alone, 5.5 million lost their jobs, accounting for 27% of total job losses.” he said. “Unless we do something extremely powerful,” up to 85% might close before the end of the year.
Why McConnell’s HEALS Acts Will Not Do Enough
To save independent restaurants. Yesterday, Senator Mitch McConnell proposed the HEALS Act, which includes the next round of coronavirus aid. But the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) claims it will not do enough and continues seeking support and pushing for signatures on the RESTAURANTS Act. Yesterday, the IRC shared an updated statement in response to the Senate’s proposed HEALS Act, which does not provide direct aid to independent restaurants and bars, highlighting the need for restaurant-specific relief in the days leading up to the August recess. The longer Congress waits to deliver relief to independent restaurants, the more businesses risk permanently shuttering and wiping out at least 16 million jobs across the country. The changes to the Paycheck Protection Program proposed by Senator McConnell today are a good start, but independent restaurants don’t need another loan.
Independent Restaurants Prepare for a Long Disruption
Close to a majority are investing in permanent adjustments to pandemic conditions. The emergency measures taken to survive the COVID-19 pandemic are being systemized into long-term norms for the nation’s hard-pressed independent restaurants, with 42% planning to invest in permanent safety enhancements and other changes to their physical setups, according to new research. The findings suggest that operators within the sector do not foresee their plight improving near-term. About 28% of the respondents said the biggest challenge they face is a continuing slide in dining-out demand within their markets. The difficulty of winning back customers was underscored by respondents’ stated marketing plans. About 31% said they are offering more promotions and discounts, and 12% said they were distributing coupons. Overall, 60% of the surveyed operators said they are touting the additional steps being taken to keep customers safe.
NRA Urges Local Leaders to Keep Restaurants Open
It’s not fair to just single out restaurants. The National Restaurant Association sent a letter to the National Governors Association and U.S. Conference of Mayors on Monday detailing the health and safety efforts that have been made to keep customers and employees safe during the pandemic. The letter, written and signed by NRA’s SVP of science and industry Lawrence J. Lynch, argues that inaccurate information about the industry continues to be used in media coverage, social media and statements from public officials, which often cite a non-peer reviewed study that suggests COVID-19 could have spread in a crowded restaurant in China. This incident occurred before U.S. restaurants put safety protocols and social distancing measures in place, and the study has not been reproduced in the U.S. The ongoing comparisons between a single restaurant in China to America’s restaurant industry, [steeped] in a legacy of food handling safety, has had a negative impact on U.S. restaurants, our employees, and has hindered our path toward recovery.
The Real Reason I Miss Restaurants Has Nothing to Do with Food
If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t go out because we’re hungry. We go out because we’re lonely. With the flick of a knife, I felt transported back to my childhood. Melted butter, flecked with fresh herbs, poured out of a cut in a breaded chicken breast and formed an amber pool on my plate. I was in a new restaurant in New York City, Verōnika, which occupies the second floor of a cool new photography museum, Fotografiska, but I had ordered a dish that I first encountered at some moment in the 1970s when my parents took me to a fancy restaurant that probably specialized in the same sort of European grandeur that Verōnika aims to revive: chicken Kiev. I remember falling in love with chicken Kiev back then. What kid wouldn’t? It’s basically a supersize chicken tender magically stuffed with butter. But I also remember falling in love with restaurants.
Beach Towns Fear They Won’t Survive Summer
It’s really devastating. Restaurants and stores across the U.S. are fighting to stay in business amid COVID-19 spikes and sharply reduced sales as many patrons shy away out of contagion fears or capacity limits. But few merchants are under fire like those in America’s beach towns, which earn the vast majority of their annual sales from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The stakes are higher, the losses, amplified. Businesses have 12 weeks to make money to survive the rest of the year. Typically, the weather makes or breaks a beach town’s fortunes. Nowadays, it’s area virus outbreaks, ever-changing government mandates and lingering supply shortages.
Borgata Reopened Sunday
Last casino to open in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa opened Sunday at 10 a.m. for their grand reopening. Earlier this week, the casino held a soft reopening. Guests can expect many new safety precautions, including temperature screenings before you’re allowed inside. Borgata is the last casino in Atlantic City to reopen its doors. It has opened with a limited 25% casino capacity, and it has sanitizing and handwashing stations. Every other slot machine is turned off and some chairs have been taped off for social distancing. Face masks must be worn on the casino floor at all times by customers and employees, which means no drinks can be served. There’s no indoor dining allowed in the casino, per the State’s rules, although some restaurants are open for takeout and in-room delivery.
State Data and Policy Actions
To address coronavirus. In late 2019, a new strain of coronavirus emerged in China. With the number of cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by this coronavirus, growing rapidly in the United States and around the world, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Controlling the spread of the virus requires aggressive action from states and the federal government to ensure access to testing for those who need it and treatment for those who contract the disease. To date, states have taken a number of actions to mitigate the spread of the virus and reduce barriers to testing and treatment for those affected. This data tool provides state-level information on: (i) Social distancing measures; (ii) Health policy actions to reduce barriers to COVID-19 testing and treatment; (iii) Additional state-level data related to COVID-19, including testing and provider capacity; and (iv) State Reports of Long-Term Care Facility Cases and Deaths Related to COVID-19.
Did You Know?
New stimulus package announced. Senate Republicans today announced the Heals Act (Health, Economic Assistance Liability Protection & Schools Act), a $1 trillion stimulus package proposal as a follow up to the Cares Act and a response to the Heroes Act, which House Democrats passed as a $3 trillion stimulus plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and several Republicans senators spoke on the Senate floor today to discuss the proposed legislation, which may be introduced through multiple bills. Here are some highlights about what’s inside (although there are many more provisions).
Employee Tip
Who Is Most at Risk in a Restaurant? a person sitting at a restaurant can’t see all the ways they threaten restaurant employees, making it hard for many to weigh the ethics around supporting restaurants and keeping people safe. Before deciding how to visit a restaurant (or whether to do so at all), a diner should first understand how they might endanger the people around them, just to enjoy a meal in public. A restaurant employee may be more or less likely to catch the novel coronavirus from a customer depending on their position. Hosts, bartenders, servers, and any other front-of-house workers take the greatest risk by sharing indoor space with customers, who may or may not show symptoms even if they’re infected with COVID-19. Servers who have high person-to-person contact — because that’s where there’s a significant concern — would likely be at higher risk than those that are at the back of the restaurant in the kitchen.
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Daily Alerts
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A new and exciting update. Keep your eyes open for the release of Bielat Santore & Company’s new E-Book, “100 Days of Darkness,” scheduled to be published soon. Once a definite release date is established, you will be able to obtain a copy on the firm’s website, www.123bsc.com.
