While some restaurants have made the switch to off premise model easily, many others were starting to shut down the business completely. For those who had to temporarily close the restaurants, one of their biggest struggles is supporting the employees who are suddenly cut off of a stable source of income. Fortunately, some NYC restaurants have managed to found a way out.
Care for Employees
Llama San, a modern Peruvian Japanese restaurant in Greenwich Village, closed its door right after Gov. Cuomo’s off premise announcement came out, but it did not stop caring for its employees. It has established a pantry to provide basic groceries to its 30 something staff members with funds procured from gift card sales and many other channels. Not willing to ask for money from the public without anything in exchange, the restaurant organized an online silent auction to raise money for its staff.
Even if the kitchen is closed, restaurants like Llama San do not stop caring for their employees. The staff members are helping each other out like a family. Although it is hard to find out how much the situation can be improved for the unemployed, the kindness coming from NYC restaurant workers is precious.
Care for Neighborhood Restaurants
Five restaurants in Chinatown have worked together to offer a “Good Hood Deal” to customers.
The $35 punch card includes one meal each at the five restaurants and customers can either redeem the meals as take-out now or save it later after the pandemic is over. The five restaurants will split the fund evenly, which will be an important venue of income to keep the business going for these small neighborhood joints. The “Good Hood Deal” is an epitome of how NYC restaurant workers are supporting their fellow workers even if they are technically competitors in the business.
Care for Restaurant Community
To take the collaborative nature of the restaurant business to the next level, restaurant workers and owners in New York have come together to form the Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR).
The coalition teamed up with non-profit organization Robin Hood to raise funds for the restaurant workers who are suffering financially in New York. Besides taking care of those workers, ROAR is also active in seeking help from NY state government and law makers to mitigate the pressure on the restaurant industry. On the petition ROAR started on change.org, it is asking Gov. Cuomo for an industry specific restructuring and reopening plan. Reported by the New York Times on March 20, ROAR is petitioning the state “to help ease rents, provide emergency employment benefits and make speedy changes to zoning and permit laws so restaurants can sell alcohol to take away or use their spaces as boutique groceries.”
To see so many restaurant workers and owners come together to fight for each other is inspiring. Their fight is reminding the city that the restaurants customers have taken for granted are going through a hard time and may not survive. Their collaborative effort is more than making sure a single restaurant can survive but really saving the entire restaurant industry in the city. By supporting each other, the restaurant workers and owners in New York City are showing kindness, resilience, and that they are not going down without a fight.
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