‘A very dark time ahead’
More than 600 Conn. restaurants have closed during pandemic, and more likely to follow
The head of the Connecticut Restaurant Association said Thursday hundreds more Connecticut restaurants could close in the coming weeks without an immediate infusion of federal or state aid, with the COVID-19 pandemic having claimed more than 600 already.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., met online Thursday morning with some 120 members of the Connecticut Restaurant Association to provide an update on potential financial relief, and gather input to share on Capitol Hill as legislators weigh further stimulus funding. On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd, was named chair of the House Appropriations committee.
Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, told Gov. Ned Lamont this week that 600 restaurants, caterers and others in the industry have shut their doors. Dolch told Blumenthal Thursday he is receiving calls “almost every single minute” in his words of more to follow, saying anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 could shut down in the coming weeks.
“No sector of our economy has been hit harder than restaurants,” Blumenthal said Thursday. “We need to use more of the (federal) money that is already in state hands. ... We face a very dark time ahead.”
Blumenthal said he planned to speak Thursday to Gov. Ned Lamont, who held off tapping Connecticut’s $3.6 billion raind day fund for business relief. Lamont said this week some of the fund money might be needed to pay for the cost of distributing vaccines if no federal funding is furnished immediately for the purpose, with the governor anticipating the need to use the fund otherwise to bridge a gap in projected state revenue.
Dolch suggested the state free up grants to provide funding of $20,000 or $30,000 for as many as 2,000 restaurants and other hospitality venues, awarded on the basis of the hardships they can demonstrate they are facing. He noted that Connecticut faces a Dec. 31 for spending remaining federal funds it received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
“That timeline is ticking,” Dolch said. “More states every day seem to understand the impact that our industry is being hit with.”
With restaurants operating at half capacity indoors as cold weather arrives, owners expect their outdoor dining business to dissipate, leaving takeout and delivery as the only other options for revenue. Pfizer and Moderna are in the late stages of Food & Drug Administration consideration of their vaccine candidates with more to follow, but Lamont has said he does not expect widespread vaccinations in Connecticut until late spring at the earliest.
Dolch criticized state officials for not doing more to make people comfortable with dining out, by sharing photos on social media of their own meals at restaurants.
“Last week alone was the toughest week in this industry that they’ve faced, revenue-wise,” Dolch said. “I’ve been going to a restaurant every single day probably the last 10 days, and I see it. ... People just aren’t coming out to support them like they should and these restaurants are unfortunately making decisions to close their doors.”