DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA) sent a letter to Governor Mike DeWine asking him to move the alcohol sale curfew to midnight, from it’s current 10 p.m.
In the letter, the ORA said the capacity limitations for restaurants over the past six months put in place because of the pandemic “continue to severely impact our industry.” The letter said surveys of owners and operators around the state show more than half are suffering sales losses of 20% to more than -70% from a year ago. The ORA also said as many as half of its members do not expect their businesses to survive into 2021 if conditions stay the same. “Restaurants, bars, hotels and other hospitality services were among the first to feel the impact of COVID-19 and will be the last to fully recover, leaving empty buildings across the state and more than a third of our industry unemployed,” the letter stated.
DeWine asked the Ohio Liquor Control Commission to enact the 10 p.m. curfew to help curb the spread of coronavirus in Ohio in July. “We have to slow the spread of the virus, and we have to slow the spread across the state of Ohio,” DeWine said during a news conference.
In the letter, the ORA said, “The Ohio Restaurant Association and our Board of Directors are formally requesting the state to change the alcohol sale curfew from 10:00 pm to midnight. This was the recommendation from your Restaurant Advisory Group.
We feel strongly about making this change as soon as possible. We urgently need support, especially with the gridlock in Washington, DC where Congress is unlikely to address a federal relief bill and a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program until after the election. While Congress delays action, small and mid-sized businesses are in a crisis mode. They are running out of PPP funding and cash, while fixed costs are still due – rent, insurance, technology fees, supplies, labor and additional PPE.”
The Ohio Restaurant Association
