Hunter
04/23/20
The longer the coronavirus-related closings of bars and restaurants in Iowa continue, the harder it will be for them to start back up again with full staffing.
That’s according to a new survey by the Iowa Restaurant Association.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the state’s restaurant and food service industry is on track to lose over $310 million in sales this month.
Restaurant owners report an average 75% decline in sales; bar owners at 89%, with 92 percent of them completely closed.
The Association’s study showed that 87 percent of the state’s bars and restaurants have laid off, furloughed or terminated jobs in the last 30 days. Although about 40,000 hospitality industry employees have filed for unemployment, it’s estimated more than 66,000 have been laid off or furloughed since Governor Kim Reynolds ordered in-house service suspended on March 17.
Jessica Dunker is President and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association. She says in a statement, “Iowa’s hospitality industry is on the precipice of collapse. The longer these on-premise service suspensions are extended, the more operators we will permanently lose.”
Under sixty percent of bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues have tried to stay open with the carryout, drive-through and delivery options, but most say their limited operation is just covering cost of rent and paying a few employees.
The study says over one in four bars and restaurants don’t expect to reopen if the closures are extended to July 1.
