Struggling bar/restaurant owners sound off to lawmakers

By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com

Another day and another restriction.
That’s how local restaurant and bar owners are viewing the latest go-round of coronavirus restrictions placed on Pennsylvania eating and drinking establishments by Gov. Tom Wolf and the state’s Department of Health.
Under Wolf’s orders, restaurants and bars in the state are to dial back capacity limits to 25% from 50% to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The new rules also force bars to close unless they are serving sit-down, dine-in meals, and mandates that alcohol can only be served if it is within the same transaction as a meal or if it is for off-site consumption.
Outdoor seating, takeout and delivery and cocktails to-go are still permitted.
Restaurant and bar owners say the latest restrictions target the industry and make it nearly impossible to be profitable and maintain full staffing.
“We get up in the morning, put on our big-girl pants and go to work and see what they say,” said Juanita Findrick, co-owner of The Elbow Room in McKeesport.
As a result of the restrictions, Findrick now has to close the restaurant certain days of the week, and has shortened hours on the days the restaurant is open.
She has yet to call any employees back to work since restaurants and bars faced shutdowns and restrictions when the coronavirus pandemic hit the state in March.
“Twenty five percent capacity isn’t much, especially when you consider that’s including employees, too,” Findrick said. “If it keeps up like this, we’ll have to close down another day. We’re just going to swing it week-by-week.”
Other bar owners weren’t as patient as Findrick.
“The inconsistency between the LCB (Liquor Control Board) and health department is insane,” said Rich’s Parkside Den owner Rich Algeri. “They’re not on the same page. They give us very little notice. All these bars and restaurants have produce they’re buying and it’s all wasted because they give no notice when they have to close. I don’t think they even know what they’re doing. It’s all fly by night.”
Algeri said his employees are the ones feeling the crunch of the latest round of restrictions. He had to lay off employees for 12 weeks earlier this spring.
“I feel bad for the employees. They have children and families,” he said. “I have employees I’m helping out just to keep their heads above water. I’m willing to help them out financially. I’m willing to apply for all the government grants to help them out.”
Charleroi’s River House Cafe owner Michael Coury said he’s had to cut his hours of operation in half and laid off one-third of his workforce.
“It’s not a fun thing to do,” he said. “I think the restaurants and bars have been targeted. We’re following the guidelines the best we can, we don’t want our workers sick and we don’t want our customers sick. We can’t lose the limited manpower. The rules just don’t make sense right now.”
While an end to the restrictions may not be soon forthcoming, state lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to aid restaurant and bar owners.
Last week, state senators Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, and Pam Iovino, D-Mt. Lebanon, announced a comprehensive proposal to provide $100 million in emergency relief to Pennsylvania’s restaurants and taverns.
“Restaurants, bars and the hospitality industry have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and we have to provide relief,” said Brewster. “Too many bars and restaurants are imperiled, cannot survive under strict mitigation, or have closed their doors putting men and women out of work. We have an obligation and responsibility to move aggressively and provide help now.”
The seven-point plan also includes a list of policy changes to financially benefit struggling eating and drinking businesses.
Some of the recommendations from Brewster and Iovino include waiving all license renewal and permit fees that are paid by restaurants and taverns for one year, eliminating late fees and penalties for delayed sales tax payments and allowing drinking establishments to expand their licensed premises outdoors.
“They should give us one hell of a discount on our liquor license next year because we’re not using them,” Findrick said.
GOP legislators heard about the devastating effects the capacity limit is having on the bar and restaurant industry during a four-hour hearing of the state House Republican Policy committee in Harrisburg.
They heard testimony from members of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association to discuss how COVID-19 mitigation efforts are negatively impacting small business licensed restaurants and taverns across the state.
Recognized as the leading advocate for the state’s small business taverns and restaurants, the PLBTA has been calling upon state leaders to piece together a survival and recovery program.
Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine was invited to Tuesday’s hearings, but did not attend, opting to submit a written statement to the hearings.
“I heard Levine didn’t even show up,” Algeri said with disappointment.
House Democrats sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf asking that the capacity limit be raised to 50%, the initial restriction imposed to halt the spread of covid-19 during the corona­virus pandemic.
The Wolf administration didn’t participate in the hearing. Wolf spokeswoman Lyndsay Kensinger asked legislators to support lobbying federal leaders to pass the RESTAURANTS Act, a bill that would prove $120 billion in aid to help independent restaurants make it through the pandemic.
“The federal bill provides grants to cover the difference between revenues from 2019 and projected revenues through 2020, with a maximum grant of $10 million,” Kensinger said.
Until government aid comes to the rescue or coronavirus restrictions are lifted, restaurant and bar owners will have to depend on the support of the community.
“This region is very supportive of us,” Coury said. “It’s overwhelming to us sometimes.”
Findrick encouraged people to support local eateries.
“People are still afraid, and in this area it’s a lot of older people who are afraid of catching the virus,” she said. “We get a lot of phone calls asking ‘can we dine in yet?’ Well, yeah, come on down.”

Jeff Stitt / Mon Valley Independent
Wearing a face mask, Juanita Findrick of McKeesport sanitizes the bar at the Elbow Room. She thinks shutting down in-person drinking in Allegheny County bars is a mistake.