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CHICAGO’S
COVID-19 RULES HIT MINORITY NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANTS HARDER
Illinois Policy Institute/
Patrick Andriesen
Restaurant owners in Chicago communities
with low COVID-19 vaccination rates, mostly on the city’s South and West
sides, say pushback against the vaccine proof mandate has hurt sales and
cost them customers.
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 Chicago restaurant owners in
minority and low-income neighborhoods with low-vaccination rates are saying
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s citywide COVID-19 proof of vaccine mandate is costing
them customers.
“Asking people in my area to show proof of vaccination is almost asking them for
a fight,” Carmella Coqmard, owner of The Foodie’s Spot in the Grand Crossing
neighborhood told the Chicago Tribune. “People are very, ‘Don’t do that.’
They’re getting very defensive. I’m losing customers.”
Coqmard said she has laid off three employees since Lightfoot’s mandate began
Jan. 3. A downturn in traffic lead to her lowest weekend sales in three years.
She suspects the community’s low vaccination rate – less than 46% – is partly to
blame.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccine mandate requires all Chicagoan ages 5 and older
to prove they have been vaccinated before entering restaurants, bars and gyms.
Besides a vaccination record, patrons must show a picture ID.
On average, 65% of Chicagoans are fully vaccinated and 73% have received at
least one dose, according to city data. But those rates tend to be lower in
communities on the city’s South and West sides, where advocates say vaccine
hesitancy and difficulty lining up shots has been more common.
A study from the University of Chicago released in September affirmed the claim,
finding unequal access to vaccines for South and West side communities
contributed to lower vaccination rates and preventable deaths.
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The Chicago Tribune
suggested the restaurant downturn generally follows vaccination
rates. Restaurant owners in areas with higher vaccination rates said
customers were typically adjusting to the policy change more easily
than those in communities with lower rates.
Mike Zar, the fourth-generation owner of Daley’s Restaurant in
Woodlawn – where 51% of Chicagoans are vaccinated – said he saw
business decrease by 80% during the first few days of the vaccine
mandate.
Zar told the Chicago Tribune he believed the city was doing the
right thing. “It just comes at an expense for everyone.”
But not all Chicago restaurants are paying as high a price as
Daley’s.
Interviews conducted with restaurant owners on the city’s North
side, where vaccination rates are generally higher, said they have
seen relatively little push back against the vaccine mandate.
Dan Weiss, the owner of Dollop Diner in Ravenswood and 15 coffee
shops mostly located downtown and on the North side, said he has yet
to hear a complaint from staff about customer responses to the entry
requirement.
“A number of things are making business difficult, but a vaccine
mandate is not the No. 1 thing,” Weiss told the Chicago Tribune.
“I’m more worried about it being zero degrees.” |
