Idaho restaurant, bar owners want Little to shut industry, pay emergency unemployment
Some owners and managers of Idaho restaurants and bars have drafted a letter asking Idaho Gov. Brad Little to shut down their industry immediately for 30 days and grant restaurant workers emergency unemployment compensation.
They owners say they are worried about public health and their businesses’ survival if restaurants try to hang on as the coronavirus crisis keeps social-distancing patrons away.
“The very act of serving food and beverage in a social setting requires that we violate social-distancing protocols,” putting employees at risk, the restaurateurs wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Idaho Statesman.
A spokesman for Gov. Brad Little said Wednesday that he had not yet received the letter. Little said at a news conference earlier Wednesday that he had no plans to close restaurants or other businesses. He said he was concerned about making “arbitrary decisions” about which businesses to close and when to reopen them.
The letter asks Little to increase state unemployment benefits for the time restaurants are closed. The owners asked Little to suspend the unpaid “waiting week” that people on unemployment must go through before unemployment benefits begin. It also asks that the unemployment program compensate workers who lost income for being quarantined or having compromised immune systems.
The names of owners and managers of more than 80 restaurants and bars were attached to the letter in a copy the Statesman saw Wednesday evening.
Among the signatories are Tony and Tara Eiguren, owners of The Basque Market in Boise. They said in a phone interview Wednesday that fears of coronavirus mean fewer people are coming in. As of early Wednesday afternoon, they’d seen just one customer the whole day.
“We can’t afford to pay our employees to be here, and they live paycheck to paycheck,” Tara Eiguren said. “We want to do everything we can for them, but we can only do so much.”
‘Business failure’ without a safety net
The businesses themselves are at risk, too, the letter says. Staying open without a “safety net” for workers “requires many of us to continue on, in conditions that are not sustainable, and most likely resulting in business failure,” the letter says.
“Margins in this industry are extremely tight, even in a burgeoning population and economy,” it says. “We cannot run at half speed and expect to survive.”
“We need you to shut down our industry to save it,” the letter says.
At his news conference, Little urged people to use drive-thru or takeout dining options. But the owners’ letter says remaining open “even in a limited capacity” risks spreading coronavirus.
Idaho had 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised people to distance themselves from others and to avoid gathering in groups of 10 or more. President Donald Trump has encouraged people to stay out of restaurants and bars.
States order restaurant closures
Twenty-three states across the country have ordered restaurants to close at least somewhat for dine-in patrons, although many are still allowing takeout, delivery and drive-thru services. Several large cities, including New York, Miami and Washington, D.C., have similar restrictions.
The Eigurens have 10 employees. Closing their doors is inevitable, Tara Eiguren said. The Basque Market may close as soon as Thursday.
“It’s not like our employees could just go get another job,” Tony said. “You’re laid off from us, the restaurant next door is closed. They can’t find work and they can’t work. We’re just asking for the government help to keep them and us safe.”
Three Boise-area restaurants temporarily closed Tuesday after an employee may have been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a neighboring state. They are Bardenay restaurants in Boise and Eagle, and Coyne’s, which just opened in Eagle. The Bardenay location in Coeur d’Alene also closed as a precaution.
The owners’ letter also asks the state to provide employers with a 90-day extension to file their state payroll reports and deposit state payroll taxes without penalty, and to defer state sales tax for 90 days with an arrangement to repay over three years “to help cover immediate and startup payroll expenses.”
This story has been updated to include that Gov. Little’s office has not received the letter and that one owner said it is still a working document, that more owners and managers’ names have been added as signatories, and that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Idaho rose to 11 Wednesday night.
Business Editor David Staats contributed.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 3:02 PM.
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