Coronavirus update 4/3/20
As we mentioned in today's earlier alert. Governor Baker signed beer and wine legislation into law. Please see
ABCC Advisory
regarding the new law.
N
ew Opportunity for restaurants to sell bulk product to the public
MRA Advisory
A restaurant’s common victualler license permits the sale of food and provisions to the public. In addition to prepared meals, such sales can include meat, fruit, vegetables and cheese purchased by a restaurant from a supplier in their original packaging for preparation and consumption at home. Other sales may include household items such as toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies and frozen and canned food products.
A restaurant must follow the same guidelines as it does when selling prepared meals: no on-premise seating or gathering and should enforce or encourage social distancing. This can be achieved by (i) call ahead ordering; (ii) time windows for pick up; (iii) guests calling when in the parking lot or at curbside for pick up; (iv) an online order system on a restaurant’s website;(v.) ensure employees practice proper personal hygiene and use gloves; (vi) create policies to limit guest interaction such as encouraging credit card payments over the phone or online ordering.
Additionally, restaurants engaging in bulk selling of product to customers shall:
Not perform bagging if re-usable checkout bags are used;
Not charge a fee for recyclable paper bags, compostable bags or single use plastic bags.
Any cleaning items should be intended for household, not commercial, use and be in their original containers with directions for use and any manufacturer or supplier’s warning.
Bulk dairy products such as cheese, milk and eggs require refrigeration and must be kept at 41 degrees or lower until they are picked up by the customer. Similarly, fresh or frozen meat should be sold in original packaging or in sealed food grade packaging to prevent contamination.
Operators should work with their suppliers to maximize this sales opportunity.
PPP
The Antares Group
CARES Act Webinar Q&A, Recording and Slides
Thank you all for attending our webinar this week where we walked through the Paycheck Protection Program through the CARES Act. We could not answer all the questions that came in during the webcast, so, as promised, we have provided a comprehensive list of questions and our answers.
Message about PPP loan applications
If you watched last night’s news, you probably heard Treasury Secretary Mnuchin say that banks would be accepting application packages for the Paychecks Protection Program beginning today and that funding could occur immediately.
We heard from many banks today that they are still not able to process loan applications. As the day progressed, some of the larger banks have been able to come on-line and begin processing some of the applications that have come in. As we navigate this process, it is important to continue communication with your business banker to determine when they are ready to receive and process your application.
Our partners at
People's Bank
are requiring the following documentation. This is only a sample and other banks may require additional information.
- Applicants must provide documentation necessary to establish average monthly payroll expenses including the following documents as available:
- IRS Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Tax Return, including payroll tax filing information) for each of the four quarters of calendar year 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 if available
- Payroll processor records
- IRS form 1099 MISC (Report of Income) for 2019
- Profit and loss statement (for sole proprietorships)
- For applicants that do not have any of the above information, they may submit “Bank records sufficient to demonstrate the qualifying payroll amount”
