COVID-19 concerns mean another tough winter for restaurants
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[October 13, 2021]
By Zeta Cross
(The Center Square) – Illinois restaurants
are facing a second winter with COVID-19 complications.
The uptick in cases of COVID-19 due to the delta variant has made six
out of 10 restaurant patrons more reluctant to eat out than they were
earlier this year, a new survey released by the National Restaurant
Association has found.
Thirty-seven percent of restaurant goers who were surveyed said they
have reverted to take-out and delivery rather than choosing indoor
dining. A troubling 19% of people surveyed said they have stopped eating
out altogether.
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, is pushing
hard for refunding of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to help
restaurants make it through the winter.
“Restaurants need your support,” Toia said. “Restaurants are the soul of
every neighborhood.”
Even in good times, 95 to 97% of every dollar that a restaurant takes in
goes right back out the door for labor costs, product costs and fixed
costs, Toia said. COVID-19 mandates that restrict the number of people
who can eat inside make restaurant business plans unfeasible.
“You put your business model together with 200 seats, and then you get
cut to 100 seats. It’s not going to work,” Toia said.
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To keep their doors open, restaurants have leaned on
curbside pickup and delivery.
In spite of Illinois’ frigid winters, restaurants
have heated their patios and built igloos and other shelters to
provide outdoor dining options.
“People have grown accustomed to eating outside, and I think that is
going to be with us for a while,” Toia said.
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When it comes to profitability, Toia said, curbside pickup and
outdoor seating options can only take restaurants so far. Ninety
thousand restaurants across the nation closed their doors. More
federal aid is critical, Toia said.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a $28 billion dollar program,
was established under the American Rescue Plan Act this past winter
to provide restaurants, bars, food trucks and caterers with funding
equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss. The fund ran out of
money in June. Only one-third of applicants received payments.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act
(H.R.3807/S.2091) is now before Congress. The bill would add an
additional $60 billion to the RRF and ensure that restaurants and
bars that qualify will receive grants. |