Congress Has One Week to Act
Congress is in session for only a few days more, and if they do not get their job done – restaurants will be left out in the cold for months.
This week, the National Restaurant Association released a letter to Congress with the results of the latest survey on the economic health of the industry, and the findings are bleak. In Massachusetts:
- Ninety-one percent of Massachusetts restaurant operators say their total dollar sales volume in October was lower than it was in October 2019. Overall, sales were down 43% on average.
- Eighty-nine percent of Massachusetts operators expect their sales to decrease from current levels during the next 3 months. Only 3% of operators expect their sales will increase from current levels during the next 3 months.
-
Fifty-six percent of Massachusetts operators say their restaurant’s total labor costs (as a percent of sales) are higher than they were prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Forty-nine percent of Massachusetts operators say it is unlikely their restaurant will still be in business six months from now, if there are no additional relief packages from the federal government.
- Fifty-five percent of Massachusetts operators say they are considering temporarily closing their restaurant until the COVID-19 pandemic passes
- 110,000 restaurants nationwide are closed… 10,000 more since our last survey.
For months, Congress has been trapped in a political tug-of-war while restaurants continue to go dark. A group of moderate Democrats and Republicans last week unveiled a compromise plan that has brought both parties back to the negotiating table. They are calling for a $909 billion relief bill, including a second round of Paycheck Protection Program grants, which with improvements could provide immediate assistance to restaurants.
Congress has heard from you before and we know that many of you have been communicating to your member of Congress, but we need to keep fighting before they go home. Click here to add your voice!
