In Open Letter Endorsing Biden, Restaurant Owners Say Donald Trump Has Failed the Industry

[brooklynite]

Eater

In a show of support for presidential candidate Joe Biden, more than 150 chefs and restaurant owners across the country signed an open letter condemning President Donald Trump’s handling of COVID-19, which, they say, created an “existential crisis” for restaurants. The letter, titled “Restaurants for Biden,” and released by the Biden campaign, details how conflicting information from government officials and the president, as well as the shortcomings of the PPP loan program, personal protective equipment shortages, and “arbitrary social distancing capacity cap guidance,” created a perfect storm that put “the prospect of a recovery into an even deeper hole.”

Included on the list of signatories are dozens of respected and well known chefs whose restaurants and bars represent both fine dining and more casual establishments. Among the signers are celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner, television star and baker Duff Goldman, chef and cookbook author Anita Lo, Nina Compton of Compère Lapin in New Orleans, Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco, and Fran Camaj, owner of the Los Angeles-based Gjelina restaurant group. A number of the chefs and owners who signed the open letter helm restaurants that have notably closed — either temporarily or for good — during the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, independently owned and operated restaurants have been regularly overlooked and ignored by the federal government, receiving little — if anything — in the way of clear guidance or financial support. When President Donald Trump met with a group of restaurateurs in mid-May at a roundtable event to discuss extending and modifying the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the attending restaurant owners and CEOs were notably all male, mostly white, and almost exclusively represented the interests of major companies and fine dining restaurants. Earlier, in April, the White House brought together a similarly limited group of fast food CEOs and fine dining chefs to advise on a plan to support the restaurant industry.

The PPP loan program that the CEOs and chefs were at the White House to discuss at May’s roundtable has faced criticism since its inception. In a first round of PPP funding, franchise locations of major restaurant chains like Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse received millions of dollars in loans. Only after facing public pressure and scrutiny did many of those major chains return the funds. At that point, the first round of funding had been depleted, shutting out many small restaurants that had applied. The loans often failed to reach and support Black restaurant owners. The forgiveness requirements — a majority of the loan money must be spent on payroll and rehiring staff — left even those restaurateurs who did receive funding unsure whether they could or should use their loans to pay rent, utilities, and jumpstart their reopening plans.

[Aristus]

1. Okay, so it's not the Restaurant Owners Association.

The ROA, from what I've seen, is intensely right-wing.

[Midnight Writer]

2. They're just jealous of Trump's Taco Salad.

[crickets]

3. K&R for visibility.