Chicago Reopening June 3, Senate Action Needed on PPP

The Illinois Restaurant Association continues to engage with local, state, and federal officials to help our employers and employees address concerns about COVID-19.

Please see the below resources and information for your business - updated as of 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 28.

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Chicago to Begin Reopening Restaurants for Outdoor Dining Wednesday, June 3

This afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that Chicago will begin a partial reopening of restaurants and other businesses on Wednesday, June 3. Click here to read the full announcement.

Click here to read more from Chicago Sun-Times.

Earlier this week, Mayor Lightfoot, alongside the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), industry leaders, labor leaders, and public officials, announced industry-specific guidelines for safely operating within Phase III: Cautiously Reopen. These guidelines are part of the city’s Be Safe Chicago framework that will be used to guide Chicago’s reopening process amid COVID-19.

Within Phase III, restaurants and coffee shops are permitted to open for outdoor dining only with specific safety guidelines. The IRA led the city of Chicago's food and beverage working group focused on reopening strategies.

Click here to download the guidelines for restaurants.

Guidelines include:

• Contactless pickup available and contactless payment encouraged

• Outdoor dining permitted for restaurants and coffee shops following standard social distancing requirements

• Application process pending; dining areas considered outdoors include rooftops, rooms with retractable roofs and indoor spaces where 50% or more of a wall can be removed via the opening of windows, doors, or panels provided that dining tables are within 8-ft from such openings 

• Visual signage posted throughout facilities regarding hygiene, social distancing, proper PPE and more

• Employees required to wear face coverings at all times, face coverings for guests required when not seated

• Employees and diners encouraged to maintain 6-ft physical distancing

• Employees frequently disinfect facilities

Help Get PPP Fixes Across the Finish Line!

Congress doesn’t agree on much these days – but the House of Representatives listened to us and today passed a bipartisan bill fixing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act makes desperately-needed improvements for restaurants with PPP loans, including:

• greater flexibility in how a restaurant can use a PPP loan

• longer time for a restaurant to use a PPP loan

• improvements to the rehiring deadline to allow a PPP loan to be forgiven

The bill was approved overwhelmingly in the House, but it has an uncertain path in the Senate. They need to hear from you now to pass this bill, fix the PPP, and preserve America’s restaurants. 

Click here to contact your Senators and make your voice heard!

Looking for Reopening and PPE Resources?

The IRA has launched a premier resource base of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and reopening services for restaurants, including: hand sanitizer, face coverings, gloves, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, plexiglass, menus, floor markers, signs, and more.

Click here to let us know if you would like to join the IRA’s reopening resource page and offer PPE materials and equipment to restaurants and bars throughout Illinois. Companies must be current IRA Associate members in order to be featured. Contact Emilee Lyons for more information on listing your company.

State of Illinois Phase 3 Outdoor Dining Reopening Guidance

On Sunday, Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) released guidelines for the reopening of outdoor dining across the state during Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan. Click here to read the full announcement.

The document specifies: the eating and drinking establishments who may operate in this capacity, party size limitations, operational procedures for seating, menus and service standards, and – at the cornerstone – recommended enhanced health and safety measures to protect public well-being.

For the purposes of these guidelines, a dining or drinking area is considered an outdoor dining or drinking area if the area meets any of the following criteria:

1. Located on the rooftop of a building or within establishment with retractable roof (should remain open during hours of operation of outdoor dining and/or drinking); or

2. Outdoor space connected to or located on the site of a restaurant, grocery store, health or fitness center, hotel, golf club, or other social club with a food establishment license; or

3. Indoor space where 50% or more of a wall can be removed via the opening of windows, doors, or panels provided that dining tables are within 8-ft from such opening; or

4. Any other outdoor dining and drinking areas authorized by local governments provided that food and drinks are prepared by licensed food or liquor establishments and that proper social distancing of 6-ft between designated customer tables and/or other seating areas is observed and parties are of 6 persons or fewer

Operators must also look to their local municipalities and health departments for further guidance.

A state of Illinois Phase 3 reopening toolkit for restaurants and bars is also available here.

Included in the toolkit are the following materials:

• Restaurant and bar outdoor dining business guidelines

• Industry posters (Graphic)

• Industry posters (Text)

• Business checklist

• Employee checklist

• Wellness checklist

• Social media graphics

Illinois Restaurant Promise - Download the Poster

In partnership with the IRA and health officials across the state, restaurant owners and operators make these commitments to earn this endorsement during the COVID-19 recovery period. 

When customers see this endorsement, they can be comfortable that the restaurant is taking all necessary steps to protect their employees and customers and is committed to playing a leadership role in protecting our communities.

Click here to download the poster for your establishments.

Tomorrow - Webinar on Fair Workweek Ordinance

Join the IRA, Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), and the BACP Office of Labor Standards (OLS) on Friday, May 29 at 10:00 a.m. for a webinar to review Chicago's Fair Workweek ordinance and compliance requirements for employers.

Restaurants with less than 250 employees and less than 30 global locations are exempt from this ordinance. Unless your restaurant has 30 or more locations globally, your restaurant is exempt from this ordinance. Franchisees with 3 or fewer locations owned by one employer are also exempted. Click here to read the Fair Workweek ordinance FAQs.

Click here to register for the webinar.