The restaurant industry has been among the hardest hit during the pandemic and earlier this week Health Officials said if hospitalizations don’t let up soon, more mitigation measures could be issued. Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris said right now the industry is fairing pretty good…
“Pretty well is compared to how they’ve been doing in COVID. A lot of our restaurants are open a limited number of days, many stop seating people before 9 p.m.” said Harris.
As the fourth surge continues to overcrowd hospitals Harris said several members are watching to see if the industry could be called upon to reduce capacity.
“Obviously we feel like it will have some impact as this peak continues to rise, but this is also our slowest part of the year, July and August are really the slow times,” said Harris.
Staffing shortages have also been an ongoing issue for the restaurant industry and Harris said they are starting to see more people apply for jobs since the end of federally enhanced unemployment benefits, but not as many as they hoped.
“If we’re going to be able to have in-person schools as it appears they will now, they’ll be some of those parents that have been doing hybrid or at-home learning that might be available to return to the workforce as school starts over the next couple of weeks,” said Harris.
Harris said they are highly encouraging patrons to comply with mask mandates when they enter restaurants in an effort to curb case numbers and allow eateries to remain open at full capacity.
Comments