2,500+ Voices Join Campaign to Keep Restaurants Open

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 5:55 p.m. on Friday, October 23.

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Take Action to Help Keep Restaurants Open

Thank you to the 2,500+ restaurant operators that have engaged in our campaign to call on Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to take a pragmatic, tiered approach to mitigations and provide direct financial support to struggling restaurants around the state.

If you haven't already done so, please take one minute to support the industry:

• Send a message to the Governor and leaders in the General Assembly to urge them to allow restaurants to remain open for limited indoor service during mitigation.

• Share our campaign via text or email with at least five colleagues in the industry, and ask them to send the message to the Governor and share the campaign with their networks as well. 

• Post the link to the campaign on your personal and business social media channels, and tag three industry colleagues in the post. 

• Sample post language below: 

• "Tell Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to allow struggling restaurants to maintain indoor service during regional mitigation and provide direct financial support to our state’s 25,000+ restaurants. Restaurants need help to survive now and thrive in the future!”

To be clear - the IRA is not advising operators to disobey any state orders while we strongly advocate for necessary changes to the state’s mitigation plan.

Read the latest:

• NBC 5 - Chicago Bars, Restaurants Brace for Impact of New City-Wide Restrictions

• WMAY - Restaurant Association Continues Push For Less Stringent Measures

• Chicago Tribune - Pritzker’s COVID-19 shutdown and the death of those great independent restaurants we love

• WGN Radio - IRA: ‘You are more likely to get the coronavirus while in one of your friends’ basements…than you are in one of our restaurants’

• Chicago Sun-Times - Food fight: Pritzker vows to crack down on restaurants ‘helping to spread this disease’ through dining defiance

• The Center Square - Pritzker issues most serious threat yet to bars, restaurants that defy orders

• Fox News - Illinois bars, restaurants rebel against governor's closure orders

• Rockford Star - Rockford region faces new restrictions over COVID-19

City of Chicago 10:00 p.m. Business Curfew, State Mitigations Approaching

Yesterday, Mayor Lightfoot announced a series of measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, including a 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. business curfew and ending of liquor sales at 9:00 p.m. nightly, and no indoor service at bars and taverns that do not have a retail food license. Restaurants continue to be allowed to serve customers indoors with 40% occupancy and a maximum of 50 people per room or space with social distancing.

Additional details include:

• Restaurants may continue operating for take-out, delivery or curbside pickup after 10:00 p.m., but indoor or outdoor consumption of food or alcohol must cease at 10:00 p.m. and doors must close to customers.

• Additionally, all bars, taverns, or breweries that do not have a Retail Food Establishment License will no longer be able to serve customers indoors at any time.

• All establishments that serve alcohol for on-site consumption must end alcohol service (last call) at 9:00 p.m. before closing at 10:00 p.m. under the business curfew.

• All liquor sales of packaged goods for off-premises consumption, via delivery or carry-out, must end at 9:00 p.m.

• All other existing restrictions remain in place, including indoor capacity limits at restaurants of 40% or 50 people within a room or space.

Click here to read the full announcement.

The city of Chicago's positivity rate has been steadily rising for several days. If the city's positivity rate reaches 8.0% for three consecutive days, the state of Illinois' mitigation plan will automatically take effect - including the closure of indoor service at restaurants and bars. The state's authority supersedes the city of Chicago's related to reopening.

Watch on Demand - Finding Cost Saving Solutions for Restaurants Webinar

Thank you to everyone that attended and our panelists from EMPLOYERS, IGS Energy, and Performance Foodservice - Chicago for joining yesterday's webinar on practical, cost-saving solutions for restaurants.

This webinar was provided in partnership with the Cook County Community Recovery Initiative.

Click here to watch the presentation. Click here to download the slide presentation.

Will County Grants Available Through Small Business Assistance Program

Will County has earmarked more than $24 million for a Small Business Assistance Grant Program to provide financial assistance to small businesses impacted by COVID-19 so they can maintain operations. The second round of grants are now available.

Businesses in Will County may be eligible for up to $15,000. Eligibility criteria includes: business located in Will County, annual revenue must not exceed $5 million (expanded from the first round), business must employ fewer than 50 employees (expanded from the first round), and more.

Businesses are encouraged to visit the Will County website for additional info, FAQs, webinars, and the grant application.

Click here to learn more.