Restaurants have become the economic lifeblood for many cities. The coronavirus threatens to take away more than just delicious food.
The danger facing restaurants, which thrive on crowded rooms and get by on razor-thin margins, poses a special threat to small cities and large towns where a robust food culture plays an outsize role in the economy. In places that had been hollowed out by poverty and suburban flight, like parts of Indianapolis, Cleveland and Detroit, they are engines of growth. In other cities with a national reputation for good food that is out of proportion to their population, like Providence, R.I., or Asheville, N.C., dining is both a tourist attraction and a key part of their identity.
Already, restaurant closures have damaged urban economies in ways that are still being calculated. Of the 701,000 nonfarm jobs lost in the United States in March, nearly 60 percent came from food services and drinking places, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We have heard estimates that as much as 50 percent of the restaurants that have closed may not reopen,” said Mr. Falcicchio, Washington, D.C.’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development. “That is really troubling when we think of our economy, the job market and the district’s bottom line.”
As valuable as independent restaurants are to their cities, though, owners say that most of the federal relief passed so far does not take their needs into account. The government has shown little interest in compelling or helping insurers to pay claims for business interruption caused by the pandemic, something restaurant owners desperately want. Restaurant owners say the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses that keep paying workers, is not useful for eateries that may need to remain shuttered or half full for months after other kinds of businesses are fully operational.
Your new post is loading...
Restaurants are important for small towns such as Newtown Township in Bucks County PA not only for tourism, but also to provide a major source of tax revenue needed to keep the township afloat. Our Earned Income Tax revenue also helps fund schools. Right now, township residents are trying to help restaurants get back up to speed now and when they are open for dine-in. Read, for example, "Newtown Area Restaurant BINGO!" http://sco.lt/7mSgj2
Related Stories: