Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us reach 5000 supporters of our petition to SavePhillyRestaurants.  We are absolutely floored by how many people have signed on to show their support for our businesses and our teams. Please continue to share it, as the support you have shown is like wind in our sails. 

Last week we met (virtually) with our state senators, and today we met with US Senator Casey, who was instrumental in passing the CARES stimulus act last week.  On the call, we had representatives of the SavePhillyRestaurants coalition, which is now made up of more than 60 restaurant leaders, with more than 160 restaurants between us. Tomorrow we will meet with members of the Philadelphia City Council.

Senator Casey assured us that we are “critical to the lifeblood of our beautiful city, and essential to Philadelphia’s growth as a city. No one can imagine a future without each and every one of your restaurants.”

We are absolutely heartbroken, especially at having to say goodbye to so many members of our beloved teams. We are also terrified. We know many of us won’t be able to survive this with little to no revenue. That’s why we are all working so hard. Our customers, our employees, and our city need us to be here for them, and we need YOUR help and support to be able have a chance to do that. 

Rent is due tomorrow and with our revenue down so suddenly and drastically, most of us can’t pay it. We are all waiting for the CARES application to go live this Friday so we can apply. Now that the definition of small businesses has been expanded by our US representatives to those with 500 or more employees in one location, there’s a very real threat that larger more well funded companies, the ones that can afford lobbyists, will swallow up most of this funding and there won’t be enough left to keep us afloat until we can fully reopen our doors. We need our elected leaders to make sure that the 350 billion originally set aside to help us is still going to companies of our size.

The CARES act essentially will provide some financial relief for roughly 8 weeks. We now think that this crisis will go on longer than that, so we are also seeking a backup plan for relief after 8 weeks.   

We are also pleading with our state leaders to expedite payments to unemployed workers. We know the systems are overwhelmed with the volume of applicants, but this is an essential and urgent need to help people in our city be able to make it.  

We will update you again soon. We are so grateful to you, and we hope to see you back in our restaurants soon. 

Please, if you can, continue to support our local restaurant community by getting takeout and delivery, and buying gift cards, so we can keep you fed, and keep the lights on.

Until then, stay well.