Coronavirus Update 4/5/20
Advocacy continues...
The National Restaurant Association sent letters to the National Governors Association and the US Conference of Mayors outlining the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry and steps that state and local leaders can take to begin to mitigate the impacts on the industry. While many of these suggestions have already been implemented in Massachusetts, the letter provides recommendations for what else can be done to protect America's restaurants.
Click here to see the letter
As we know, our industry is navigating uncharted waters, therefore solutions, ideas and recommendations come from all places. The MRA has significant checklists about what needs to be done. These checklists can be broken down into three time frames:what needs to be done immediately?; what needs to be done in the moderate short-term?; and what needs to be addressed as we get on the other side of this crisis? Each time frame is not more or less important than the other, but gives us a roadmap to outline what needs to be done.
We do not have all the ideas or recommendations, if you have some ideas that could or should be implemented, please do not keep them to yourself, send any ideas to
[email protected]
or reply to this email.
PPP
Operators interested in applying for the PPP should be working with their bankers and accountants, while the PPP loan program might make sense to some operators, it may not make sense to all. The other loan programs available in addition to PPP, should all be evaluated to make the best decision for your business.
Some considerations as to whether or not you will apply for the loan:
- We have heard from some lenders that some money has just begun to be dispersed; it is our understanding, that the 8 week clock starts as soon as the money arrives in your account
- do you need this money now or might it be prudent to wait? We understand that there might be a rush to apply for fear that the account could run out. We expect frequent updates from the Treasury Department and the SBA regarding the availability of monies
- will you be able to maintain the payroll numbers as required in the lending agreement?
These questions reiterate the importance of working with trusted banking and accounting partners
If you are selling beer and wine as part of your take-out menu, be sure to update your profile on the
CarryoutMA
website.
Reinforce best practices
Many government officials are projecting the next two weeks as the toughest for Massachusetts. This is an important time to reinforce best practices, including:
- paying in advance or over the phone
- curbside whenever possible
- enforcing social distancing for waiting customers as strictly as possible
