On March 15, 2020 the Connecticut Restaurant Association updated members and the community about its efforts to mitigate business impacts on small businesses with a letter to Governor Ned Lamont. To broadly share the message within the trade community, the following is an excerpt from the notice sent by Scott Dolch, Executive Director, Connecticut Restaurant Association.

Dear Connecticut Restaurant Community,

As we continue to navigate through these challenging and uncertain times, we want you to know that the Connecticut Restaurant Association is doing everything we can to encourage the State to support our restaurant industry in every way possible.

Yesterday, the association sent a letter to Governor Lamont to ask for his support in providing specific relief options to our industry during these difficult times.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE CRA LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR

The list of relief examples are below:

• Preventing price gouging by implementing temporary delivery fee caps. Food delivery apps will be critical for many, and we must protect consumers who will rely on these services during this crisis;
• Extending the window for restaurants to make payments on COVID-19-related costs they are incurring;
• Extending the terms of payments to alcohol distributors from 30 to 60 days;
• Enacting a 90-day extension on paying monthly sales tax;
• Making available no interest loans to those who have seen a dramatic decrease in business;
• Eliminating penalties for late payment of business and property taxes;
• Adjust the merit rating and benefit payment procedures for Unemployment Compensation;
• Extending the cure period for various violations facing businesses during the crisis;
• Additional regulatory relief for restaurants in regards to unemployment claims; and
• Educating the public about how citizens are safe to patronize their local restaurants and bars.

As a follow up to our letter, the Governor’s Office let us know that they plan on announcing specific business and economic incentives as early as Monday and we will be sure to share this information as it becomes available.

In addition, the association staff is working hard to provide additional resources to each of you in the industry. Recently, we launched a new Facebook Group – CT Restaurants Collaborative, which we hope can help answer specific questions and concerns. Please click the group name link to join today. 

For the most up-to-date information from the Connecticut Restaurant Association on COVID-19, including guidance and other resources, please visit ctrestaurant.org/about-coronavirus. Also, we ask that you sign up to receive text message updates from the CRA by clicking here.