July 2 – Over 215 Farmers, Butchers, Winemakers, Restaurant Suppliers and Trade Groups Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan RESTAURANTS Act for Independent Restaurants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2020
CONTACT:
Jeff Solnet
Jeff@precisionstrategies.com
561-926-0909
Over 215 Farmers, Butchers, Winemakers, Restaurant Suppliers and Trade Groups Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan RESTAURANTS Act for Independent Restaurants; Say Disappearing Restaurants “Will Take Us With Them” Without $120 Billion Lifeline
As Restaurants in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas Forced to Close Doors, Suppliers Urge Members of Congress to Support RESTAURANTS Act and Protect Up to 16 Million Jobs
Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Pat LaFrieda, and Niman Ranch Among Businesses Supporting the Bipartisan Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 215 suppliers and trade groups across 26 states and D.C. urged Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act and establish a $120 billion revitalization fund for independent bars and restaurants. The suppliers, and various trade associations representing them, asserted that providing direct aid to the beleaguered food and beverage industry would give supply chain businesses confidence that they can continue to invest in restaurants and build the relationships that power their livelihoods.
Organized by the recently-formed Independent Restaurant Coalition, signers included well-known names like Bacardi (Florida), Brown-Forman (Kentucky), Niman Ranch (Colorado), Matthiasson Vineyards (California), and Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors (New Jersey). Trade associations that joined include:
United States Cattlemen’s Association
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Organic Trade Association
Rural and Agriculture Council of America
Seafood Harvesters of America
The group writes, “We strongly encourage you to support the Independent Restaurant Revitalization request. The creation of this fund is a vital step to restart our national economic engine. We need restaurants to survive so we can help the millions of Americans in the extensive supply chain survive too.” The full letter is available below.
Forced closures of restaurants across the country have had devastating effects on the businesses that supply them:
$1 billion in perishable goods were left sitting in the stagnant supply chain within one week of dining rooms closing
Premium seafood product sales decreased by 80%.
Wine sales decreased by 67%.
Sales of spirits dropped by 75%.
Meat processors were forced to euthanize animals for lack of market demand for processed goods– at one poultry processor alone, two million chickens were slaughtered, and staffing was reduced by 50%.
Another chicken processor has decided to invest in a complete pivot to wholesale due to the fact that they expect restaurants to permanently close at an alarming rate nationwide.
The RESTAURANTS Act was introduced on June 18 by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3), and proposes a $120 billion Independent Restaurant Revitalization Fund for small food and beverage establishments facing devastating financial setbacks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The RESTAURANTS Act has bipartisan support within each chamber, with Sens. Doug Jones (D-AL), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) joining the Senate bill. The House proposal has over 25 co-sponsors, 9 of whom signed on this week.
The revitalization fund has been a long sought-after goal for the IRC – the Coalition wrote a letter to Congress on April 29 outlining their request for a bill. Weeks later, at a restaurant industry roundtable at the White House, the IRC took their proposal directly to the president. The IRC has consistently argued that the fund would be pivotal to guaranteeing that the restaurants now reopening will be able to stay open.
The Independent Restaurant Coalition was formed by chefs and independent restaurant owners across the country who have built a grassroots movement to secure vital protections for the nation’s 500,000 independent restaurants and the more than 11 million restaurant workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Coalition’s leadership team includes Tyler Akin, José Andrés, Kevin Boehm, Sean Brock, Katie Button, Andrew Carmellini, Ashley Christensen, Jeanie Chunn, Amanda Cohen, Tom Colicchio, Nina Compton, Rosa Garcia, Suzanne Goin, Gregory Gourdet, Will Guidara, Mason Hereford, Sam Kass, Max Katzenberg, Mike Lata, Camilla Marcus, Ivy Mix, Kwame Onwuachi, Patrick Phelan, Erika Polmar, Naomi Pomeroy, Steven Satterfield, Michael Shemtov, Nancy Silverton, Frank Stitt, Bobby Stuckey, Robert St. John, Caroline Styne, Jill Tyler, and Andrew Zimmern.
###
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer and Leader McCarthy,
The success of independent restaurants directly affects hundreds of thousands of businesses both large and small, including ours. We are grateful for the Paycheck Protection Program and your efforts to make the program more workable for restaurants. In the long term, there remain seemingly insurmountable challenges to restaurants that a two- or six-month relief program will not account for. We urge you to join us in supporting the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s request for a revitalization fund, which in turn would help our own businesses to survive after the current COVID-19 crisis and provide a much-needed boost for our country’s uphill economic recovery. Suppliers, particularly farmers, are making decisions now about how to run our businesses for the next several months amid a time of unprecedented uncertainty. A revitalization fund from Congress would give us confidence that restaurants will have the resources they need to continue purchasing our goods and services.
Our organizations represent businesses which, in part, make up our nation’s vital restaurant supply chain. 5 million of us work in the local industries that directly support the food and beverage industry. Though our work may take place hundreds of miles away from the restaurants and diners where our products are enjoyed, our fates are inextricably linked. Within one week of dining rooms closing, $1 billion in perishable goods were left sitting in the stagnant supply chain. Premium seafood product sales decreased by 80%. Wine sales decreased by 67%. Sales of spirits dropped by 75%. Within weeks, meat processors were forced to euthanize animals for lack of market demand for processed goods. At one poultry processor alone, two million chickens were slaughtered, and staffing was reduced by 50%. Another chicken processor has decided to invest in a complete pivot to wholesale due to the fact that they expect
restaurants to close at an alarming rate nationwide.
Without assistance, our country will not only permanently lose 11 million jobs, but we will lose the restaurants that have become the cornerstones of our communities, and with it, the vibrant agricultural community that brings food and drink to tables nationwide.
Since the mandatory closure of restaurants across the United States, we have experienced a near total market collapse for our goods. We were forced to lay off thousands of workers -- ranch hands, chemists, lobstermen, farmers, from every state in the country. And because most restaurants pay on terms, we are now owed billions of dollars in back invoices. Today there is little hope of these bills being paid without a federal plan to help the restaurant industry get back on its feet. If small restaurants are not given direct relief, they will close in debt, and related industries will fail – permanently.
We strongly encourage you to support the Independent Restaurant Revitalization request. The creation of this fund is a vital step to restart our national economic engine. We need restaurants to survive so we can help the millions of Americans in the extensive supply chain survive too.
Absent Congressional action, these restaurants will disappear – and they will take us with them.
Two weeks ago, we were pleased to see Sens. Roger Wicker and Kyrsten Sinema introduce the bipartisan RESTAURANTS Act of 2020 (S. 4012). This legislation, which reflects a similar proposal (H.R. 7197) from Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, and several other House members, would provide a much-needed $120 billion Revitalization Fund for restaurants. Such a lifeline would allow us to continue our work with independent restaurants across the country, giving us certainty for the security of our own businesses.
The closing of a restaurant means a massive ripple effect in our economy. We feel that in supporting independent restaurants, you are giving us the chance to survive as well. If you take bold decisive action, and support this Revitalization Fund for independent restaurants, we will be back. When restaurants are given the lifeline they need to survive, so will we.
Sincerely,
Arizona
ALBOS Foods LLC
Alpha & Omega Restaurant Repair
Arcadia Meat Market
Arizona Craft Beverage
Arizona Distilling Co.
Arizona Vignerons Alliance
Arizona Winegrowers Association
AZ Bitters Lab
Baron Studio
Benny Blanco Tortillas
Cactus Kelly
Callaghan Vineyards
Cartel Coffee Lab
Chromis Technology
Clear Creek Vineyard
Crow’s Dairy
Dos Cabezas Wineworks
Elgin Winery and Distillery
Fiori Floral Design
Fred Ulrich Photography
Gigaphase IT Consulting
Green Living Magazine
J&N Administrative Services
JC Printing
Jet-Fresh Inc.
Los Milics Vineyard
Maya’s Farm
McClendon’s Select
Nathan Claiborn PLLC
Nelson’s Meat + Fish
Page Spring Cellars
Sonoita Vineyards
Sonoran Pasta Co.
Steadfast Farm
Superstition Meadery
The Independent Distillery
Tracy Dempsey Originals
True Salt Co.
Two Wash Ranch
Zarpara Vineyard
California
Ataraxis Biosciences
Bassian
BiRite
Cellar Master Inc
Chambers and Chambers Wine Merchants
Cruise Wine Co
Del Monte Meat Co
Devil's Gulch Ranch
Dirty and Rowdy Wine Co LLC
Frog's Leap Winery
Geolo Capital
Hirsch Vineyards
Holus Bolus Winery and Joy Fantastic Vineyard
ItalFoods
Joseph Phelps
La Grenouille Selections
Lyra Fine Wine Imports
Martines Wines
Matthiasson Family Vineyards
Mayacamas Vineyards
Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust
Oliver McCrum Wines & Spirits
Park Wine Company
Passamore Ranch
Ports Seafood
Pray Vineyards
Scribe Winery
Shiverick Imports
St. George Spirits
The Source Imports
Treasury Wine Estates
Valkyrie Selections
Vesta Foodservice
Villa Creek Cellars
Colorado
European Cellars
Niman Ranch
Odell Brewing
Connecticut
Chefs Warehouse
Mary Taylor Wine
Delaware
Produce Marketing Association
Florida
Bacardi
Cheney Brothers Food Distribution
Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits
Georgia
Inland Seafood Corporation
Springer Mountain Farms
Idaho
Idaho Potato Commission
Illinois
Cosmopolitan Linen
Fortune International, LLC
H2Vino
Lakeshore Recycling Systems
Purely Meat Co
Kentucky
Brown-Forman
Louisiana
Louisiana Fresh
Natco Food Service
Maryland
The Vineyards at Dodson
Massachusetts
Bully Boy Distillers
Dole and Bailey
Ioka Valley Farm
Island Creek Oysters
M.S. Walker
Martignetti Companies
Mucci Wine Imports
Notch Brewery
Olmstead Wine Co.
Oz Wine Company
Ruby Wines Inc
Sid Wainer & Son
Toast
Wulfs Seafood
Michigan
Fisher and Paykel
Gordon Food Service
Minnesota
Bang Brewing
Bergin Fruit & Nut Company
Capital Beverage Sales
Cargill
Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy
Cook of Crocus Hill
Ferndale Farm & Market
Fresh Energy
Green Lands Blue Waters
Growing Edge Facilitation
Land Stewardship Project
Libation Project
Main Street Alliance
Mainstreet Project
Mill City Farmers Market
Minnesota Cooks
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Farmers Union/Birchwood Cafe Alliance
Nice Ride Minnesota
Nice Ride MN; a non profit mobility manager
Northwestern Fruit Company
Peace Coffee
Peterson Craft Meats
Redesign
Renewing the Countryside
Riverbend Farm
Summit Brewing Co
The Food Building
The Food Group (formerly Emergency Food Shelf Network)
The Good Acre
The Wine Company
The Women's Environmental Institute
University of Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
Mississippi
Middleton Farms
Sanderson Farms
New Jersey
Bodegas Riojanas USA Corp
D’Artagnan
Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors
New York
Bieler Pere et Fils
Bowler Wine
Dreyfus Ashby & Co
Elenteny Imports
ForkLift Foods
Four Fat Fowl
Hilltown Country Smokehouse
Jenny & Francois Selections
Jetro - Restaurant Depot
New York Distillery
Ora king salmon
Polaner Selections
Rosenthal Wine Merchant
Schatzi Wines
Skurnik Wines
Snuk Foods
The Vine Collective
North Carolina
JP Bourgeois
Regal Wine Imports
North Dakota
Agraria Restaurants
North Dakota Farmers Union
Ohio
Cutting Edge Selections
Oregon
Andrew Rich Wines
Brandborg Vineyard and Winery
Day Wines
Friends of Family Farmers
Good Coffee
Hope Well Wine
J.K. Carriere Wines
Jackalope Wines
Nasty Woman Wines
Oregon Tilth
Portland Wine Co
Project M Wines
Smith Berry Barn
Star Mooring Farm
Tillamook
Travel Oregon
Walter Scott Wines
Willamette Valley Wineries Association
Rhode Island
PaCa Imports LLC
South Carolina
Abundant Seafood
Anson Mills
Grassroots Wine
High Wire Distilling Co.
Limehouse Produce
Manchester Farms
Pharaoh LLC
Storey Farms
Vertical Roots
Washington
Drifters Fish
Winebow
Washington, D.C.
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Organic Trade Association
Rural & Agriculture Council of America.
Seafood Harvesters of America
United States Cattlemen’s Association
Wine & Wholesale Spirits of America
Wisconsin
ULINE