AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – The Texas Restaurant Association launched a grassroots campaign this week to push Congress to act on COVID-19 relief in the final days of 2020. The association is calling on Texans to contact their elected officials to “save Texas Restaurants.”
Congress is in session for only a few days more, and if they do not get their job done and pass a relief bill, chances are restaurants will be in the cold until this February at the earliest,” said TRA CEO Emily Williams Knight. “Our industry simply cannot wait for relief any longer. Efforts in Washington to find the “perfect” solution are laudable, but the lack of progress in the meantime has led too many operators to give up on the government and close down for good. We are pressing for an all-of-the-above approach from lawmakers – nothing should be off the table.”
The National Restaurant Association, in partnership with the Texas Restaurant Association, released a letter to Congress on Monday with the results of their latest survey on the economic health of the industry. The research consisted of a national survey of 6,000 restaurant operators conducted November 17 – 30.
The survey found that more than 10,000 Texas restaurants have already closed and with business conditions deteriorating 30% percent of Texas operators believe it is unlikely their restaurant will still be in business six months from now, if there are no additional relief packages from the federal government.
According to the survey, 85% of Texas operators say their restaurant’s profit margin is lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. 79% of Texas restaurant operators say their total dollar sales volume in October was lower than it was in October 2019. Overall, sales were down 24% on average. 62% of Texas them expect their sales to decrease from current levels during the next 3 months. Only 8% of operators expect their sales will increase from current levels during the next 3 months. 75% percent of Texas operators say their current staffing level is lower than what it would normally be in the absence of COVID-19. 65% percent of restaurants are currently more than 20% below normal staffing levels with an estimated 150,000 restaurant employees still on the sidelines.
26% of Texas operators expect their staffing levels to decline during the next 3 months. Only 9% of operators expect their staffing levels will rise during the next 3 months.
The TRA supports the bi-partisan $908 billion relief bill introduced last week that, including a second round of Paycheck Protection Program grants.
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