In New York, for several days, at mealtimes, buildings have seen delivery men pass by. Already very popular, the meal delivery is the only way for New Yorkers, along with take-out, to “eat out”. Since Monday evening, the city imposed the closure of all establishments, quickly imitated by New York State (but also those in neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut). The shock is severe, when there are nearly 20,000 restaurants in New York (and 50,000 in the state), that the sector employs 141,000 people for a direct turnover of more than 12 billion dollars annually.
“Restaurant owners were optimistic before the virus arrived. After a difficult last year, 2020 started off pretty well, says Melissa Autilio Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association. Everything has changed in the past three weeks. “ Even before their forced closure, establishments began to record a drop in attendance, at least 50%. “Asian restaurants were the hardest hit. Unfortunately, people believed, wrongly, that it was dangerous to drive in Chinatown ”, says Melissa Autilio Fleischut. Some restaurants have anticipated the closings and have lowered the curtain on their own, as early as last weekend.
“Not all of them have the capacity to ensure delivery, says the president of the New York State Restaurant Association. It is very difficult to start this overnight, so many are shut down completely. “ And income from delivery or take-out should not offset losses from the closure.
VIDEO. Coronavirus: New York is gradually taking refuge
Help needed
It is impossible to say how long the restaurants will remain closed, but even a few weeks of confinement could prove fatal for the sector. Tens of thousands of jobs are at stake and establishments could be shut down, in a city where commercial leases are extremely expensive and where the life expectancy of a business is already not very high ( 60% of restaurants close during their first year of existence, and 80% during the first five).
The sector should benefit from federal aid. The Trump administration has identified it among the priorities of its gigantic stimulus plan . But these subsidies could take a long time to arrive. Industry representatives wrote to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio asking for immediate help. “We can’t wait four to six weeks. By then, many restaurants will have already gone bankrupt ”, says Melissa Autilio Fleischut, who first asks for the suspension of the payment of taxes for small businesses, as well as an adjustment of rents and loans.
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