Restaurants are #TooSmallToFail. Think about all of your favorite restaurants that were doing well, but shut down anyway due to extenuating circumstances. Now consider all the ones that were middling or struggling. If we don’t help out all restaurants now, most of them won’t make it through this crisis.

For millions of Americans, the first sign that the novel coronavirus (and its associated disease COVID-19) was a local problem was the closing of local restaurants and bars. Some were done as a safety precaution, and others were due to municipal mandates. In New York City, restaurants were ordered to discontinue dine-in service on March 17, 2020. Even before this, Seamless cited a 75% decrease in foot traffic. And starting on March 22, 2020, Mayor de Blasio mandated that all non-essential businesses close by 8pm each night. Restaurants were still deemed essential and could continue providing takeout/delivery (delivery services likewise fell under the essential umbrella).

I’ve watched many local favorites pivot to adjust to these new regulations (which include the ability to serve to-go alcohol with any food purchase). Restaurants that previously were dine-in only began offering delivery through Uber Eats, DoorDash, Caviar, etc. Many shops also began operating with a skeleton crew. And some bars/breweries were even selling bulk cocktails, and basically transformed themselves into ad-hoc beer/liquor stores.

However, many of these tactics are not sustainable for businesses. The government-mandated safety precautions, while necessary, left many in the service industry without a primary source of income, and put restaurant owners in a tough position. Owners could either choose to remain open and provide limited service (likely for limited revenue), or close down indefinitely. All the while, lack of government direction meant that best practices for compensating employees was unclear at best.

One thing has become abundantly clear, however – GoFundMe campaigns and Venmo accounts set up to benefit out-of-work employees are merely band-aids. What the service industry needs is emergency relief from the government.

In New York, the government response has been relatively lackluster. The NYC Small Business Services department does not provide many viable resources for most business owners. At the time of this writing, the only options are a zero interest loan, or a grant program for businesses with fewer than five employees. In these uncertain times, future revenue is not guaranteed, so a loan may be a lost cause. And most restaurants/bars have more than five employees.

Nationally, Congress signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides two weeks paid sick leave for quarantined individuals (which just brings us to international first-world standards). At a state level, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo approved a similar bill. But many folks experiencing financial insecurity do not fall into these narrow buckets.

So what can people do? Plenty, actually.

What restaurant owners can do

With all the mounting uncertainty, there are many trusted resources that can help you navigate these tough times. The US Small Business Administration has listed many resources in the way of business guidance and financial assistance. Likewise, New York City’s Small Business Services department offers many free resources. The New York Small Business Development Center (NYSBDC) also offers free services. And the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce has graciously offered to help any business in the five boroughs, even if it is not a member. You can always go the hyperlocal route and turn to your neighborhood business improvement district office. The Atlantic Ave BID has compiled a very comprehensive list of FAQs for business owners.

Many influential folks in the restaurant industry have been vocal about the lack of federal support and guidance, while others have taken it upon themselves to provide relief. While not a comprehensive list, below are additional steps business owners can take.

You can apply for an emergency relief grant online or a zero-interest loan:

• Southern Smoke Foundation. Apply for their emergency relief program, which supports any industry folks in need (with a priority for medical emergencies).
• The James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund. The JBF is providing micro-grants for small and medium businesses.
• NYC Small Business Services. Apply for a business continuity loan at zero interest.
• Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund. Verizon has partnered with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and pledged $2.5M in small grants to small businesses. (Disclosure: I worked on this project)

If you choose to remain open:

• Enforce enhanced food safety standards!!! Serious Eats recently published a very comprehensive guide, and NC State University has a great hub as well, containing many PDF guides and infographics.
• Several delivery services are waiving delivery fees/commissions for independent restaurants, including GrubHub and Uber Eats.
• Yelp is also providing relief for independently owned restaurants/bars, including waiving fees for their ads and page enhancements. Additionally, Yelp has partnered with GoFundMe to make it easier to display fundraisers on Yelp listings, and they will match up to $1 million! (Editor’s note: Yelp came under fire for opting businesses in without consent, but they have since changed this practice.)
• The Small Business Relief Initiative. Intuit Quickbooks and GoFundMe have partnered to make it easy to set up a GoFundMe for small businesses, and Intuit has dedicated $1M to the cause.

If you’ve decided to close, be sure to update your online listings (Yelp, Google Maps, etc.) and suspend fulfillment service on delivery platforms (like Seamless) as well as pickup services (MealPal, Ritual, etc.).

You should also consider offering alternative ways for your customers to support your business directly:

• Selling gift cards and merchandise are both great ways to receive monetary support now, even if your restaurant/bar is not open for business.
• Dining Bonds Initiative. Similar to gift cards, Dining Bonds are essentially discounted gift certificates that restaurants can offer for future use. Customers can redeem them when (hopefully not if) the restaurants are back up and running. This provides money to the businesses to cover the unexpected costs caused by this pandemic. However, the Dining Bonds Initiative does not facilitate any transactions, but instead provides an awareness platform that explains the program and lists participating businesses.
• Help Main Street! For a little more digital commerce guidance, this bootstrapped platform helps merchants offer gift cards via Toast.

Additionally, you can provide your support for government petitions aimed at effecting legislative changes that increase relief for restaurant owners and their employees:

• Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR). ROAR is a petition co-signed by some of the biggest names in the NYC dining scene (Daniel Boulud’s The Dinex Group, David Chang’s Momofuku Group, NoHo Hospitality Group, Eataly, Jean-Georges Restaurants, Nom Wah, Major Food Group, and others). Among their proposals are rent abatement, suspension of sales/payroll taxes, and increased unemployment benefits for furloughed/laid off staff.
• Save Local Restaurants. Similar to ROAR, the Independent Restaurant Coalition is national proposal for an income replacement program to help restaurants pay staff, landlords, and suppliers.

What employees can do

If you are still working, practice food safety (again, guides from Serious Eats and NCSU). If you feel unwell, then do not go to work! This cannot be emphasized enough.

If you are no longer working (or your hours have been significantly reduced), the first thing you should do is apply for state unemployment benefits:

• NYS Department of Labor. If you qualify, sign up for unemployment benefits as soon as possible! Benefits are not retroactive, and New York State has waived the 7-day waiting period for benefits to begin applying. However, note that based on anecdotal experience, it the website and phone lines have been bombarded with requests, so it may take a while to get through. One estimate puts increases in claims at +1,000% in some regions of the state! Note that underemployment (i.e. loss of hours) is enough to claim benefits; you do not need to be laid off.

Additionally, there are many programs that have been stood up to provide relief for service workers.

• Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. The RWCF has partnered with the Southern Smoke Foundation to provide a relief fund to restaurant workers in all fifty states. Half of all funds raised will go directly to restaurant workers (the rest will be used for business loans or support other community services).
• United States Bartenders’ Guild. Bartenders can apply for an emergency grant from the USBG National Charity Foundation.
• One Fair Wage Emergency Fund. This relief fund is meant for tipped and service workers, including restaurant staff and delivery drivers.
• Restaurant Workers Relief Program. If you’re food insecure, the Lee Initiative (in partnership with Maker’s Mark) has set up this program to turn restaurants into relief centers. Meals and essential supplies are provided. At the time of this writing, they have been stood up in 11 cities, with more on the way.

What customers can do

This is an easy one – continue supporting your local businesses. And tip well!

And if you have the means to: donate to staff fundraisers; consider purchasing a Dining Bond; or donate to other charities set up to assist individuals and their families:

• Eater is maintaining a running list of all of the staff fundraisers organized by/for individual restaurants in NYC. You can also donate on Yelp via GoFundMe.
• Purchase gift cards and merchandise! Purchase Dining Bonds from your favorite businesses if they’re offered. Buy a gift card via Help Main Street!
• Southern Smoke Foundation. Donate what you can, and Southern Smoke will get those funds into the hands of those who need it the most (both owners and employees).
• The James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund. Donated funds will help support small/medium sized restaurants.
• One Fair Wage Emergency Fund. You can donate to this fund that supports restaurant workers, delivery drivers, and others who rely on tips to earn a living.
• Restaurant Workers Relief Program. Donate to this program that provides meals and supplies to service industry folks who need it.
• ActBlue Charities via Bernie Sanders. Donate any amount, and ActBlue will distribute the funds evenly to nine different charities actively helping individuals affected by COVID-19, including: Children of Restaurant Employees COVID-19 Relief Program and US Bartenders Guild COVID-19 Relief Fund. Alternatively, you can donate individually to CORE and the USBG.

What everybody can do

The very least everyone can do is sign petitions for expanding relief measures for business owners and their staff. Here are the three big ones (descriptions of the first two above):

• Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR)
• Save Local Restaurants
• Save Small Business Before It’s Too Late. A change.org petition from Councilman Mark Gjonaj to Mayor de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Write to your representatives and senators! Let them know that you support restaurants and that they are too small to fail!

Other things you can do that are free – liking and sharing Instagram posts with local business updates; providing support for each other; keeping others informed.

NYC also has many free mental health resources via NYC Well if you or someone you know needs someone to talk to. Take care of yourselves!

You can also share this list with everyone you know who’s been affected. I’ll try to keep it updated, but if there are any other resources I’ve omitted, please drop me a line. And if any business owners would like a copy of my book, I will provide a digital copy free of charge (or for as low as Amazon will allow). Just contact me.

Stay safe and sane!

Last updated March 27, 2020