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Small, independent restaurants in the U.S. face a challenging path ahead, even if Congress approves additional financial support during the coronavirus pandemic, restaurateur and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson told CNBC on Tuesday.
Samuelsson, co-founder of Red Rooster in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, specifically referred to the so-called RESTAURANT Act of Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. The legislation would provide $ 120 billion earmarked for independent restaurants in the U.S., offering grants to go towards payroll and other operating costs.
Samuelsson, born in Ethiopia and later adopted by a family in Sweden, was the guest chef at the Obama administration’s first state dinner. Also known as a judge on the Food Network’s “Chopped,” he’s behind several other restaurants besides Red Rooster in Harlem.
“If we don’t pass this bill, I don’t know what will happen to independent restaurants, and our neighborhoods and our communities will look very, very different,” Samuelsson said on “Squawk Box.” “Even with this, it will be an incredible task to rebuild the restaurant industry.”
The $ 120 billion aid bill was approved by the House last Thursday as part of the $ 2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus legislation. The Democrat-led bill is not expected to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are trying to negotiate a bipartisan aid package to provide support for the US economy, which has been devastated by the Covid crisis. -19.
It’s unclear if the so-called RESTAURANTS Act, or something similar that specifically targets small food establishments, would become a bipartisan agreement reached by Pelosi and Mnuchin, who are leading the talks for the Trump administration. However, a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program is believed to be a key pillar of any future coronavirus relief legislation.
“It’s not so much about passing this bill in terms of ‘we want another loan.’ We just want to get back to work. That’s all we want to do, “Samuelsson said.
People wear protective masks outside the Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem as the city continues Phase 4 of reopening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus on August 25, 2020 in New York City.
Noam Galai | fake images
While acknowledging the difficulties on the horizon, Samuelsson said they would be magnified without targeted government aid.
“It is the most important thing that can happen to us as communities, as restaurant workers. It has to happen,” he emphasized, noting that between 11 million and 16 million people work in independent restaurants. “This is the difference between whether 70% or 80% of those 16 million people are going to be unemployed or if they can rehire 60%, 70%.”
Restaurants have faced significant challenges during the pandemic, initially having to cope with forced closures designed to slow the transmission of the coronavirus. But since reopening, restaurants have had to operate with tables outside and with less capacity indoors, adding to operational challenges in an already low-margin industry.
Samuelsson said he believes it is important to make the distinction between restaurant chains that have access to capital markets and the hundreds of thousands of small restaurants in the country.
“Our worlds look very different from those of big restaurants. They really do,” he said. “When you think of neighborhoods, when you think of the heart and soul of not just New York City and San Francisco, places like that, but American cities, the independent restaurant is what makes the heart and soul of those neighborhoods. “.
