Junior’s Cheesecake owner Alan Rosen told CNBC on Monday that restaurants would be in serious financial trouble if they had to reopen and then close again due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This opening and closing could be the death sentence for restaurants in this country,” Rosen said in “Power Lunch.” “When people buy food, you throw out food worth $ 100,000, it’s your end.”
Rosen’s family business has three locations in New York City and a fourth in Connecticut. So far, she said, only her Brooklyn location is open and serves takeout.
New York City restaurants could offer indoor dining this week, but authorities ruled out those plans on Wednesday when Covid-19 cases increased in other parts of the country. Restaurants in the city began offering cookouts in late June.
Officials in other parts of the country are also taking steps to reverse some of their coronavirus reopening plans, particularly targeting companies like bars. In Texas, for example, Governor Greg Abbott ordered bars to shut down indoor service and reestablished a 50% capacity limit for restaurants.
And on Monday, the mayor of Miami-Dade County in Florida responded to the state surge in Covid-19 cases by again restricting dinner service for restaurants. Gyms and banquet facilities were also ordered to close again.
Cheesecake is for sale on the counter of the Junior restaurant bakery.
Andrew Burton | fake pictures
Rosen, whose grandfather founded Junior’s in Brooklyn, New York, in 1950, said he has taken a cautious approach to resume service at his restaurants. That is why he has been looking forward to using the funds Junior received through the Paycheck Protection Program, he said.
“You have to be very slow and take your time,” Rosen said of the reopening of the restaurants. “I have to be honest, PPP, if used correctly, will save the industry.”
Rosen received some criticism in April after detailing on CNBC her intention to wait to use the approximately $ 5 million in PPP funds Junior received until the restaurants had a “very clear path to success.” At the time, Rosen said she would have used all the money if she had had to wait until June to reopen the green light.
“We believe that because we have waited since April and have not depleted funds, we now have an opportunity to succeed for another 70 years,” Rosen said Monday.
In the past four weeks, Junior’s has added approximately 100 people to its payroll as it moved to reopen its Brooklyn take-out location, Rosen said. Each of the four restaurants obtained separate PPP loans, saying that so far only funds are being used for the Brooklyn location.
He said Junior’s plans to open his location on 45th Street in midtown Manhattan then followed by his close location on 49th Street. His location at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut “doesn’t even have a chance to be open”, said.
Lawmakers in Washington approved changes to PPP a few weeks ago, giving recipients more flexibility for funds to be considered a grant, not a loan they would have to pay. Rosen said there remains uncertainty about the exact parameters of the program, but believes his company is complying.
“I think the rules are still being thought. I don’t think anybody knows all the definitive answers, but if the government doesn’t allow us to provide service and be open, I mean me, it looks like we’re sticking to it,” he said. “We are doing what we have to do. We cannot violate the law to use PPP funds.”
Rosen emphasized that Junior’s would proceed with its reopening and rehiring of employees during the coronavirus pandemic in a way that is “really smart and really thoughtful.”
“We want them to be fully employed. We want them to work for the rest of their careers with us, not for 2.5 months … We want this to be a 100% slow build back, with everyone’s safety in mind,” he said. .
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