It could be easy to look at businesses in much of America and see optimism peaking over the horizon. Storefronts shuttered for months are now welcoming customers on a limited basis, restaurants are seating tables on the patio, and normal life appears to be within grasp.
Don't be fooled by reports of surging retail and pending economic recovery, however; for small restaurants, the Wuhan coronavirus shutdowns were a fatal blow.
As mask-donning servers approach our widely distanced tables and we grasp our disposable paper menus, the reality for independent restaurants in America is bleak. The "new normal" approach embraced by leaders across the nation is to keep restaurants significantly throttled well into the multi-phase approach to reopening. The few states with low enough COVID-19 transmission rates have chosen to grant business owners permission to earn some money again say they may only do so with a fraction of the business they need to survive.
Simply put, keeping six feet apart at all times with half the dining room closed is a practice that is mutually exclusive of financial survival for any restaurant.
While the band-aid provided by the multi-trillion dollar congressional CARES Act gave some help to independent businesses, the amount of assistance needed by each business to make up for a sudden and total loss of revenue is far from covered. The Paycheck Protection Program meant to keep employees paid offered some small businesses a relief and a delay of the inevitable, but a future of social distancing regulations and diminished business that could extend for years means utilities, leases, and vendor bills will not be paid.
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Maybe they should just pick themselves up by their bootstraps. Sure would be nice to see where that $500 billion in aid was distributed but the white house keeps blocking the release of that information. Now, why on earth would they do that?
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I went out for the first time yesterday afternoon at a well established restaurant and we went out with a positive attitude and let me just tell you all, sorry but its not going to work period.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I saw its nothing but a huge joke
Oh and also prices are up and as usual they will never come back down so don't get your hopes up people.
I'm not interested in this type of dining and pretty much going to limit it.
Prices, remember when fuel went out of bounds during the time we were being held hostage by the crowd in our White House? Food and product went up due to transportation and stayed there after fuel dropped. It is a mess, always.
Delete12:42, have you seen the price of meat and pork, even at the grocery store. Ground beef is upwards of almost $7.00 a pound. Before the pandemic it was $1.99 . All restaurants are being forced to change their menu and prices while offering a limited products. I went to a local bar in west OC and a domestic beer was $6.25 plus a 10% liquor tax, so it was $6.88 a beer. I'm not exactly sure why but my prices will remain the same as before, $4.00 a domestic beer, etc. at Caribbean Joe's.
ReplyDeleteCommunists are happy. Killing the economy will help defeat Trump.
ReplyDeleteThx Joe for Keeping our lil piece of America Great!!!!
ReplyDeleteToo Little Too Late for individuals too who struggle to get Unemployment , who have Yet to get it !!!!
ReplyDeleteNeed MORE Stimulus $$$$$ for ALL until 2021 !!!! Fed & State $$$