Independent restaurants and bars are the cultural backbone of every city in America.

They employ tens of millions of people. They keep downtowns alive. They turn empty storefronts into gathering places. They absorb economic shocks that would flatten most industries — a pandemic, a rent hike, a bad Yelp review from someone who ordered the wrong thing — and somehow open again on Tuesday.

They also, on average, operate on a 3–5% profit margin...although it doesn't feel like profit.

For context: the average nonprofit is encouraged to aim for a 10% surplus. Most independent restaurants would weep at the sight of 10%. We're out here generating the kind of margins that would get a nonprofit board member fired — and yet somehow we're the ones paying full taxes.

We are therefore petitioning the federal government to formally recognize what the market already has: that running an independent restaurant or bar in America is, functionally, a charitable act.

We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for consistency.

If a 501(c)(3) can exist to preserve the migratory patterns of the Midwestern barn owl, surely we can extend the same courtesy to the people keeping your neighborhood alive one cover charge and two-top at a time.

We are asking Congress to:

• Grant independent F&B operators (under $5M annual revenue) nonprofit tax status, or a equivalent federal tax relief designation
• Require that any elected official who votes against this measure complete one full brunch service before casting their vote
• Acknowledge, formally and in writing, that "the owner" is also the accountant, the HR department, the maintenance crew, and the person who stayed until 2am because the walk-in was making a noise

This is a joke. Kind of...

— Brought to you by Industry Day, the free Monday newsletter for independent F&B operators who are still somehow in this.

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