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Restaurants ask for federal help due to pandemic

The House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee held a hearing today on restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic.

Melvin Rodrigue, president and CEO of Galatoire’s Restaurant in New Orleans and chair of the National Restaurant Association, testified that restaurants desperately need help from the federal government.

“You are well aware of the outsized impact that this pandemic has had on an industry as vulnerable as ours,” Rodrigue said in prepared testimony.



“According to a recent National Restaurant Association survey, one in six restaurants are currently closed. Forty percent of those still open say they are likely to close within six months without additional federal relief. The restaurant industry is on track to lose $240 billion this year.

“Here in New Orleans, our industry here has lost more than 31,000 jobs — half of our pre-pandemic workforce. Equally important is the recognition that after six months of crippling disruption, virtually every kind of restaurant is suffering, from the corner diner to longtime independents like Galatoire’s, and even to individual owners of full-service restaurant chains,” Rodrigue said.



“Our industry needs a federal support plan that appreciates this, and doesn’t pick winners and losers based on a business model.” F

–The Hagstrom Report