The head of the Connecticut Restaurant Association said that many local restaurants in the state are not making enough to break even heading into the holiday season.
Executive Director Scott Dolch said that anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 restaurants could shut down in the coming weeks.
“People are staying open right now for their staff. They’re not staying open beyond that. They’re staying open because they’re like, ‘I can’t put them back on unemployment again heading into the holidays. They got families,'” Dolch said.
Dolch spoke on a panel with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Thursday. Blumenthal didn’t have an update on when the next round of federal coronavirus relief might be coming from Congress, but he said there needs to be money to support local restaurants.
“No sector of our economy has been hit harder than our restaurants. They are small businesses that employ thousands of people, they serve millions across the state and they are part of our economy’s backbone,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal said he will meet with Governor Ned Lamont to discuss the additional the state can take help these restaurants.