Many Pa. restaurants may never bounce back from coronavirus closures

If you can, support your local eateries and producers

• Russ Walker
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  Russ Walker joined PA Post in 2019 as executive editor. He previously worked at KING 5 News, the NBC-affiliated TV station serving Seattle and Western Washington. At KING, Russ oversaw the award-winning investigative unit and managed the newsroom’s daily operations. His background includes stints as an editor for POLITICO, washingtonpost.com, FreedomChannel.com, American Health Line and U.N. Wire. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. Russ and his wife, journalist and cookbook author Kim O’Donnel, live in Lancaster.

 Russ Walker / PA Post

Signs posted on the door of Roburritos restaurant on Prince St. in Lancaster, Pa. (Russ Walker / PA Post)

Russ Walker / PA Post

Signs posted on the door of Roburritos restaurant on Prince St. in Lancaster, Pa. (Russ Walker / PA Post)

Some day, this quarantine is going to end. And when it does, I hope I can belly up to a bar in a local restaurant while I wait for a table, then sit down to a big meal. The louder the restaurant, the better. I miss the joys of dining out, the buzz of a popular restaurant or the jukebox in a neighborhood haunt.

When and whether we’ll get back to the good old days dining-wise is an open question. But one thing that’s not in doubt is that the restaurant industry in Pennsylvania — and everywhere — is in big trouble.

A survey released by the National Restaurant Association found that nearly every restaurant in the state had laid off staff since the coronavirus shutdown orders were put in place last month. The Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association estimates that more than 330,000 restaurant employees lost their jobs in just the past month. In April alone, Pa. restaurants will lose $1.8 billion in sales.

Billion … with a B.

And it’s not just the big chains that are suffering. As the PRLA reminds us, 70 percent of restaurants in Pa. are single-location operations, owned locally.

Mick Owens, a restaurant owner and VP for the Lancaster County Restaurant Association, predicted many restaurants will close for good. “The restaurant scene will be devastated when this is over,” he told LNP. “But for those that do make it through this, that’s not the end of the problems. Some people will still be hesitant to go out. And there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t have a lot of disposable income left.”

The federal relief program for small businesses isn’t really working out for many restaurant owners. WESA’s Bill Driscoll spoke with frustrated restaurant owners in the Pittsburgh region who complained the program “is ill-designed to help restaurants, whose needs are unique. Some owners are uncertain how to spend the funds to ensure that the loans are forgiven. Restaurant owners who have laid off workers, and don’t need any more staffers for operations that are scaled-down or halted altogether, are unsure whether they are allowed to pay workers who’ll only sit idle. Some operators fear that if they do call back laid-off or furloughed staff, they might have a hard time going back on unemployment if the eight weeks of [Paycheck Protection Program] benefits run out before the restaurant reopens.”

WPSU’s Min Xian found much the same when she spoke with restaurant owners in north-central Pa.

Some small-business owners say the feds need to provide more coronavirus funding to community-based lenders. NBC News interviewed Kutztown restaurant owner Salvador Quintero, who was able to secure a relief loan through the nonprofit Community First Fund. But most community-based lenders were not able to access federal funds that they could in turn lend out to small businesses. The NBC piece notes that Latino groups are lobbying Congress to set aside more money for small-scale lenders, but they’re competing against the deep pockets of big business.

Michael Schulson, owner of 12 restaurants in Philadelphia, wants the city to give a break to restaurants once they can reopen. He “called on [Mayor Jim] Kenney and City Council to temporarily suspend or defer the city’s liquor tax, soda tax, and other fees on the restaurant and hospitality industry during the economic recovery,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

In an editorial published Friday, LNP looked at the many challenges facing restaurants in the post-coronavirus world and urged readers to take out their wallets: “Those of us who can should continue to support the takeout and delivery services provided by Lancaster County restaurants. It’s the small part we can play right now to help them remain woven into the fabric of our lives.”

The state government, for its part, worked with the Pennsylvania restaurant association to create an online index of restaurants that are open for carryout and delivery service during the coronavirus shutdown. That site is CarryOutPA.com.

Personally, we’re doing what we can to support restaurants in Lancaster and local food producers. Passenger Coffee is still operating one of its two locations, and I try to visit once a week for a fancy espresso drink. Recently, I stopped into Stubby’s carryout to pick up an Italian sub. Cabalar is a favorite go-to when we’re craving a burger. A few farms and vendors that source directly from farms are delivering fresh produce; yesterday we got a delivery of salad greens in the morning and eggs in the evening. Lastly, I made a donation to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank this week and will do that monthly as long as I can. —Russ Walker

Some related headlines from around the state:

• PublicSource: From bras to bars to daycare centers, ‘tremendous pain’ in the Pittsburgh region’s small business sector

• Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle: Local businesses, nonprofits, struggle and seek help during pandemic

• FOX56: Small business survey shows downtown W-B businesses are in danger of permanently closing

• Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh restaurants sue insurer over COVID-19-related losses

• The Morning Call: Here are more than 100 Lehigh Valley restaurants offering takeout, delivery and curbside pickup

• LNP: Restaurants, bars in Lancaster area offering delivery or pickup options amid state shutdown

• WLVR: Five Lehigh Valley Producer-Only Farmers markets Open in May

• Philadelphia Magazine: Where to Order Restaurant Takeout and Delivery During the Philly Coronavirus Shutdown

• Centre Daily Times: Centre County takeout restaurant guide: Dozens of local businesses you can help support

• York Daily Record: Tired of cooking? Vampire Taco Truck visits neighborhoods to help with mealtimes

• BillyPenn: Give help, get help: Two new apps offer food delivery — and a chance to volunteer

• Pittsburgh City Paper: Get fresh produce while supporting local farmers with the Pennsylvania Farm Product Directory

• Post-Gazette: In a restaurant industry disrupted by a pandemic, Allegheny County’s health inspectors turn the focus to safety procedures

Coronavirus news from around Pa.

• PennLive: Man ‘facing death’ battles back from COVID-19 with help of bold new therapy at York Hospital

• The Morning Call’s Paul Muschick: Coronavirus report card: Grading Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf

• WESA: State Website Sends Mixed Messages About When Counties May Be Eligible To Reopen

• WPSU: Penn State Furloughs Some Employees With 50% Pay, Doesn’t Rule Out Future Layoffs

• Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘It’s a sinking ship’: COVID-19 deaths triple at state-run vets nursing home in Chester County as families clamor for information

• WHYY: Why so many COVID-19 deaths in Pa. will never be counted

• The Morning Call: Coronavirus infection rate appears higher in Allentown than Philly and other cities. But why?

• WHYY: Contact tracing for COVID-19 starts on a small scale in Philly

• Philadelphia Inquirer: What is ‘contact tracing’ and why is it back in vogue for tracking coronavirus?

Coronavirus must-reads from around the nation:

• Dallas Morning News: No, Trump did not put a Labradoodle breeder in charge of COVID-19 response

• The Guardian: Leader of group peddling bleach as coronavirus ‘cure’ wrote to Trump this week

• NPR: The Office As We Knew It Isn’t Coming Back Anytime Soon. Maybe It’s Changed Forever

• Spiegel International: What Autopsies Can Reveal about COVID-19

• StatNews: Public-private partnerships for contact tracing can help stop Covid-19

• Kaiser Health News: Anti-Vaccine Activists Latch Onto Coronavirus To Bolster Their Movement

• Bill Gates: The first modern pandemic

• Andrew Sullivan: We Can’t Go on Like This Much Longer