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Tonko, Local Owners Call for COVID-19 Rescue for Restaurants

Congressman hosts roundtable on RESTAURANTS Act, legislation to help locally owned restaurants hurt by the pandemic

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko held a roundtable discussion with local restaurateurs today to hear how their businesses are being impacted by COVID-19 and share details about the RESTAURANTS Act, bipartisan legislation Tonko cosponsors that would establish a $120 billion restaurant revitalization fund to rescue small, locally owned restaurants experiencing significant hardships due to the ongoing pandemic.

“Nearly every industry has experienced devastating pain as a result of this COVID-19 pandemic, but few have been hit as hard as our small and independent restaurants,” Congressman Tonko said. “Many of our local establishments have been forced to close temporarily, reinvent their entire operations and lay off workers, and some are facing permanent closure. Our locally owned restaurants offer vibrancy, jobs and economic opportunity for our Capital Region and beyond. We undermine our own efforts to rebuild our economy if we do not deliver immediate and meaningful support to our small restaurateurs, which is why I urge Congress to advance our bipartisan RESTAURANTS Act and deliver a strong rescue for these vital businesses.”

“It’s important that all elected officials recognize how serious the current economic environment is for the restaurant industry and we would like to thank Congressman Paul Tonko for understanding our industry’s plight,” said Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association. “The overwhelming majority of restaurants in New York will be unprofitable for the rest of the year, and the only reasonable path to survival will come from additional financial assistance from the federal government. Countless of our favorite eateries around the State face the very real possibility of shutting down forever to never reopen again. We should be doing all we can to ensure that lifelines exist for these small business owners.”

“On behalf of all restaurateurs in the 20th district and across America, we are grateful to Congressman Tonko for cosponsoring the RESTAURANTS Act and for being a friend to the independent restaurateur and the small business person,” said Dominick Purnomo, Owner of Yono’s and dp An American Brasserie and Director on the New York State Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors. “It’s leaders like Congressman Tonko who take time to listen to their constituents and work collectively with them that make New York’s 20th District a wonderful place to live, work and play.”

Independent restaurants make up more than three-quarters of all restaurants and bars in the United States and have been uniquely devastated by the COVID-19 crisis. In the month of April alone, the restaurant sector accounted for more 5.5 million lost jobs, about 27 percent of total job losses.

Introduced by Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act has more than 180 cosponsors. In addition to a revitalization fund, the bill would:

  • Deliver funding to food service or drinking establishments that are not publicly traded or part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name.
  • Cover the difference between revenues from 2019 and projected revenues through 2020.
  • Prioritize small restaurants more impacted by COVID-19, making the first 14 days of the grant’s availability only open to restaurants with annual revenues of $1.5 million or fewer.
  • Direct $60 million of administrative funding toward outreach and engagement to restaurants owned and operated by women, Veterans, and people of color.

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