Kit Watson, the manager of the Wormleysburg-based American Legion Department of Pennsylvania, testified before the House GOP Policy Committee about the problems Gov. Tom Wolf's restaurant restrictions are having on posts with kitchens.
Posted on 07/28/2020 2:58:06 PM PDT by lightman
Chuck Moran, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, is wearing a different hat these days.
Moran said he essentially acts as a counselor, consoling owners and operators of small restaurants and taverns across the state for hours a day. The restaurateurs fear they will lose their businesses and their livelihoods as a result of restrictions placed on them to try to mitigate COVID-19.
“I had one member that I was so concerned about that I referred to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline,” Moran said. “That’s how serious some of them are. They’re really desperate.”
Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced he was rolling back indoor dining statewide from 50% capacity to 25%, closed nightclubs and limited bars that don’t serve food to only offer to-go drinks as coronavirus cases have risen in certain parts of Pennsylvania and are surging in other states.
Restaurant, tavern and bar owners testified at Tuesday’s House Majority Policy Committee that the restrictions placed on them during the pandemic are crippling — and the latest roll back could push some over the edge to permanent closures.
A survey from the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association conducted in May found that 91% of Pennsylvania restaurant operators have laid off or furloughed employees since the pandemic’s emergence in March. The average reduction was 84% of the facility’s total staff.
“As if COVID only lives on bar countertops,” said Mick Owens, a restaurant owner in Lancaster County, who complained about the targeted mandates impacting the restaurant industry.
Almost half a million Pennsylvanians work in the restaurant industry, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.
Riki Tanaka, a restaurant owner in McKean County, was one such employer who had to furlough his staff. He called it the “worst day of my life” — and was forced to give away food to his staff because there weren’t enough customers to sell off the food before it would spoil.
“Talk about feeling responsible — you’re responsible for other people’s ability to buy groceries,” Tanaka said.
He also criticized the statewide nature of the mandates from state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, since the case numbers in rural counties like McKean are different from those in Philadelphia or Allegheny counties.
None of the restaurant owners said, when asked, that they have seen clear evidence from Levine about why the reduced capacity is necessary to combat the health risk. Levine was invited to attend the hearing but submitted written testimony instead.
“I fully recognize the need to balance measures that reduce the spread of COVID-19 across the commonwealth with the economic and social impacts of statewide mitigation efforts,” Levine wrote. “It is vitally important to stop the worrisome trends in increased case counts in Pennsylvania, lest the virus have the devastating impacts we see in other states.”
But she also said previously she wouldn’t be releasing “granular” data to support the new rollback.
“If there was any real evidence that 25% versus 50% impacted safety when proper social distancing and face masking is enforced, that would be different,” said John Longstreet, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. “The only significance of the 25% number is I am sure that thousands of restaurants will close and hundreds of thousands of restaurant employees will once again be unemployed.”
A Wolf spokeswoman Lyndsay Kensinger said the new restrictions are necessary at a statewide level and not just county-by-county, citing one bar that was listed as a point of exposure for individuals in at least four counties.
She said the Legislature is calling on Congress to pass the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act. The $120 billion bill would provide restaurants with grants to help cover payroll, benefits, mortgage, rent, protective equipment and other costs.
“The number of people getting COVID-19 from isolated, identifiable outbreaks, such as those in long term care facilities, is decreasing, and more people are contracting COVID-19 from being out and about in their community, such as when visiting restaurants and bars,” Kensinger said.
That response didn’t fly with at least one restaurant owner.
“Why is Wolf calling on Congress?” Tanaka said. “It’s his doing. Twenty-five percent is the most arbitrary number. It’s insanity.”
Some Democratic lawmakers — six at last count — have recently joined their Republican counterparts in supporting relaxing the restrictions on restaurants. Democrats from Allegheny, Lawrence, Mercer, and Erie counties issued news releases stating that they want Wolf to restore the 50% capacity guidelines.
Sens. Jim Brewster, D-Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, and Pam Iovino, D-Allegheny and Washington counties, announced a proposed $100 million relief package for restaurants and taverns. House Bill 2615 offers a similar proposal.
“We just need help from you guys,” said Jim DeLisio, the owner of Racehorse Tavern in York County. “We need money.”
Some owners have found it’s just not financially worth it to open their establishments while earning such reduced revenue — and as operational costs increase.
“We are spending money needlessly to follow guidelines that are always changing, and we are spending thousands of dollars on food that people aren’t even eating,” DeLisio said.”Why does this virus know that they’re at my bar and not at Walmart and Lowes? The numbers don’t satisfy these mandates.”
What’s more, the restrictions on restaurants have impacts downstream, since the “supply chain is enormous,” said Rui Lucas, a restaurant owner in Montgomery County. He said restaurants rely on farmers and work with marketing agencies, cleaning crews, and more.
The impacts of these restrictions are also felt by Cumberland County’s Kit Watson, the manager of the Wormleysburg-based American Legion Department of Pennsylvania. He said most posts with kitchens had to donate their food to local school banks and then spend more money to restock once they were allowed to reopen.
Now with this most recent mandate, which he said was given with “extremely short notice,” club funds were lost again. He questioned why the directives apply to counties not experiencing rises in infections or deaths.
But the communities for which the posts are located in are the biggest losers, Watson said. Donations for his post’s housing program for homeless veterans, for instance, “dropped down to nil.”
Rep. Martin Causer, R-McKean County, who chairs the GOP policy committee, said he wants businesses to be given the opportunity to operate safely to “put food on the table” — not be closed because of a few bad actors. He also touched on the larger issue of the Legislature feeling “ignored over the last few months by the executive.”
One restaurant owner suggested the governor should respond to the uptick in COVID-19 cases in some of Pennsylvania’s counties the same way the state approaches car safety.
“You tell people to wear seat belts. You don’t tell them you can only have two people in a car,” said Owens, the Lancaster County restaurant owner. “No percentages. Barriers and spacing.”
Kit Watson, the manager of the Wormleysburg-based American Legion Department of Pennsylvania, testified before the House GOP Policy Committee about the problems Gov. Tom Wolf's restaurant restrictions are having on posts with kitchens.
Pennsylvania Ping!
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Pennsylvania voters are responsible. Elections have consequences. Cry somewhere else.
‘Pennsylvania voters are responsible. Elections have consequences.’
yep, every person in PA voted for Wolf; every single last one of them...
GOP is being handed a golden, slam-dunk opportunity to gain hordes of voters. This election is theirs to lose.
Sadly, based on past and current performance, they’ll lose it.
President Trump, we are so very sorry you are stuck with so many RINOs. Thank you for your valiant efforts in spite of them.
Fixed.
The ChiCom Flu is NOT going away, there is No Stopping it or even slowing it down. Every thing they are doing is for pure political reasons and a lust for power over their fellow man.
There will NOT be a Vaccine either, 99.8% of the people that get it will have no symptoms to mild symptoms, yes some will die, but those with other serious problems usually.
The COMMON FLU IS MORE DANGEROUS TO CHILDREN!!!
They never fail to lose an election that’s “theirs to lose”
Leaving Pitt tomorrow, back to Mass.
As I had lunch at Max’s Allegheny Tavern on the city’s northside, TV coverage of
the hearings was going on.
More than a few places especially bars-only may have gone out of business.
Last night at a Primanti’s in Moon a waitress was explaining to customers
they had to order food, not drinks only.
Places observed the protocols tho it was
mostly you gotta wear a mask to be
let in but once people ordered, masks off.
You are up shit creek! Republicans don’t give a crap.
Wolf still won. That’s how elections work. Instead of passing blame, maybe consider running stronger candidates who appeal to a majority of voters?
I'm not a Republican and there are no strong Republicans in Pennsylvania. Same where ever you live no doubt. I can't wait to NOT vote for Pat Toomey. As an independent for Trump, I'll vote for him and walk out of the booth. We're way beyond fixing this mess with elections, but do carry on in your search for Rs with balls.
Last time around Wolf was challenged by (then) PA State Senator Scott Wagner (R-28) who had been accurately described as “Pennsylvania’s Trump”.
Problem was that Wagner had trashed the GOP-E when he won a special election against their anointed choice; then wondered why nobody wanted to play with him after he had pizzed in their sandbox.
He received Party minimal support in his gubernatorial campaign.
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