A new national organization has launched to advocate for relief measures for the country’s restaurant industry, which employs 11 million people across the U.S. and accounts for 4% of the country’s GDP.
The Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) was founded on the belief that there is power to affect legislative change if we unite our voices. These small businesses, and the hundreds of millions of workers throughout the food supply and delivery chain who depend on restaurants, cannot fail.
The group is advocating for three main actions that would provide relief for the restaurant industry:
1) A 6-month income replacement program valued at $440 billion, conditioned upon full and continued employment of all restaurant staff, payment of rents to landlords and ongoing payables to suppliers.
2) An income-replacement grant program that allows restaurants to pay suppliers will empower these businesses in turn to pay their own, with a protective effect immediately felt up and throughout the supply chain.
3) No size limit eligibility attached to this income grant relief. What may seem like large restaurant groups are often comprised of dozens of smaller operators, all facing the same catastrophic effects of closure due to COVID-19.
More than 20 industry leaders are on the board, including Sean Brock, Ashley Christensen, Kwame Onwuachi, Nancy Silverton, Frank Stitt, Marcus Samuelsson and Atlanta chef Steven Satterfield, co-owner and executive chef of Atlanta’s Miller Union.
The organization is calling all restaurants to join the coalition to advocate for relief efforts for the industry. By joining, you’ll not only be part of a united voice to speak directly to the lawmakers who are making decisions about the fate of the restaurant industry, you’ll also receive a daily briefing about key legislative updates, social media call-to-actions and how you can mobilize your community and network along with a social media toolkit, and key messages and opportunities to speak with media about this vital issue.
Learn more and join the coalition here.
