7.5 Million Small Businesses
Are at risk of closing. Nearly 7.5 million small businesses are at risk of closing their doors permanently over the next several months if the coronavirus pandemic persists, according to a survey. Around two-thirds of entrepreneurs said they may have to shut forever if business disruption continues at its current rate for up to five months, according to a survey published Tuesday by Main Street America, a network of more than 1,600 commercial districts comprising 300,000 small businesses.
Term Limits
Should Americans be demanding term limits for Congress? 7.5 million small businesses will shut permanently if business disruption caused by Covid-19 continues unabated. 22 million Americans are unemployed. The super saving “Paycheck Protection Program” is out of money. 60,000 million Americans are still waiting for stimulus checks. In the midst of all of the above, Congress is extending its recess until May 4. Some lawmakers have pushed for remote voting during the crisis, but both McConnell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have resisted.
Click here to watch Term Limit Advocate clip
There Will Be No Grand Reopening for Restaurants
A rolling soft opening might be more like it. In order for the public to return to spaces like bars and restaurants before a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is available, which could be more than a year, public health experts say there are some major prerequisites for safety. Those include expanded capacity for COVID-19 testing, perhaps new antibody tests to show who has previously been infected, and a system of contact tracing (a process of identifying who may have been exposed to the virus) by either manual or digital methods. That all leaves restaurant and bar owners with the difficult and maddening task of planning for an uncertain future, gaming out many possible reopening timelines and new business models.
Did You Know?
Paycheck Protection Program officially runs out of money. The small-business-aid program is out of funds, which should spur policymakers to work out a solution. It should be easy, but it’s not. The SBA website reads that it is “unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.”
Employee Tip
Coronavirus stimulus checks: Where is the missing money going? Americans are reaching out to tax preparers and lining up at their offices around the country to find out what happened to their stimulus checks. The IRS said it is moving to provide additional information and resolve any issues as soon as possible.
Restaurant Industry Daily Alerts
A voice for our industry. If you are finding these daily bulletins informative and beneficial during this pandemic, we kindly ask that you write a brief Google review providing a vote of your appreciation. Simply Google “Bielat Santore & Company” and when the company name appears click the button on the right to write your review or; if you don’t use Gmail, go to Google Maps, type “Bielat Santore & Company” – Allenhurst, NJ into Google Maps; scroll down and you will see an option to leave a review.
Thank you and remember all of the “Restaurant Industry Alerts” and “Thursday Restaurant Rap” interviews can be found at www.123bsc.com/news/. We intend to continue to keep you informed as we all look for an end to this crisis.
