Dear Governor Northam, 

On behalf of my staff and business partners at Hops N Shine in Alexandria, Virginia, I want to extend my tremendous gratitude for all your efforts in keeping us safe and allowing businesses like ours to continue operating during these challenging times. The results of these actions speak for themselves, as we have not only been able to keep our staff employed but have also been able to continue serving our community in a time when we need to stick together.

Recently, in May of 2020, Mayor Bowser signed the COVID-19 emergency legislation in Washington, DC, which caps commission fees at 15% for third-party delivery companies such as GrubHub, Uber Eats, & Doordash. In Virginia, the cap is currently set at 30%, which is an amount many restaurant owners can barely stomach during normal times, let alone when sales are down 60-80%. While we appreciate the services provided by these companies, we feel as if some may be taking advantage of the circumstances through the implementation of exorbitant commission fees, and that a discussion should be held to help establish a middle ground.  Speaking from our restaurant’s perspective, I can tell you we will soon no longer have the resources necessary to accommodate meal deliveries.

Restaurants like ours are extremely important in small neighborhoods, as we supply the community with a safe place to enjoy with family and friends. With the cold season fast approaching, we will be forced to close our patio, and with the COVID-19 restrictions still in effect, our ability to serve the community will be severely limited.  As a result, many of our customers will resort to using third-party delivery companies in order to continue supporting our business.  I think I speak for many restaurants in saying the current commission fee cap is just too much. We ask that you see from our perspective through these tough times and follow the actions of many other states by lowering third-party commission fee caps.

Governor Northam, I ask that you take this letter and the decision Mayor Bowser made into deep consideration.  Please issue an executive order to lower the commission fee cap from 30 percent to help ensure restaurants like ours can continue to prosper and support our communities.  

Sincerely, 

C.J Cross

Hops N Shine.