#FightForIllinoisRestaurants Campaign, Impact Survey, Hospitality Grant Application

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 7:55 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11.

***

1,500+ Posts, Spread the Word on Social to #FightForIllinoisRestaurants

Thanks to your support, the IRA's #FightForIllinoisRestaurants message has been shared more than 1,500 times across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We continue to reach extended networks here in Illinois and across the country.

Click here to read more from Crain's Chicago.

If you haven't done so already, please share our message on your personal and business social media accounts to call on Governor Pritzker to change the state's mitigation plan and allow for limited indoor service at restaurants.

Take Our Latest Survey on the Impact of Mitigations

The IRA is currently Illinois restaurant and bar operators on the impact of the latest round of state mitigations that have shut down indoor service.

Please take two minutes to complete our survey and share your perspective. If you have more than one establishment, we ask that you complete the survey for each business separately.

Your insights will help guide the IRA's advocacy efforts to provide regulatory relief and overall support for Illinois' hospitality industry.

Click here to take the survey.

Chicago Hospitality Grant Program Applications Now Open

Yesterday, the City of Chicago has begun accepting application for the $10 million Chicago Hospitality Grant Program. Announced by Mayor Lightfoot last week as part of an emergency hospitality relief package, this program will provide grants of $10,000 each to Chicago bars and restaurants that have been greatly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The application will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 23 and citywide recipients will be selected via lottery, with a portion reserved for businesses in low- and moderate-income Community Areas. To be eligible, bars or restaurants must be located in Chicago, have no more than $3 million in annual revenues and have experienced at least a 25% revenue loss due to COVID-19.

Click here for the full list of eligibility criteria, frequently asked questions and to apply.

Updated Chicago Travel Order

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has revamped its Emergency Travel Order due to the changing nature of the pandemic and in order to provide more specific guidance to travelers entering or returning to the city. Under the new system, states will be placed in three categories – red, orange and yellow – based on the status of the outbreak in the states and how the data compares to the situation in Chicago.

Previously, states with more than 15 new COVID cases per day, per 100,000 population automatically went on the quarantine list, requiring visitors and Chicagoans returning from these states to quarantine for 14 days.

Click here to read more.

In The Kitchen Live Benefiting IRAEF

Tickets for the In the Kitchen Live! Event are now on-sale. Please join avec chef de cuisine, Dylan Patel, and Chicago magazine’s host, Emily Johnson, for a four-course virtual dinner party and live cooking event on Thursday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. 

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.

JBF, NRA, and IRC Webinar: Restaurant Leadership and the Pandemic

The restaurant industry is mired in a crisis with no end in sight. After an 8-month battle, we have a stalled stimulus package with winter quickly approaching and surging COVID-19 cases around the country.

The James Beard Foundation, the National Restaurant Association, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, and Restaurateur/Advocate Andrew Zimmern come together in a webinar convened and moderated by IRA Advisory Council member Rohini Dey on Tuesday, November 17 at 11:00 a.m. (Central) to offer their vision for solutions, discuss the status of policy and relief packages, and share how they are fighting for the future of restaurants.

Click here to register.

Sysco Chicago Partners with Chef Brian Jupiter to Offer Donations to Restaurant Workers

Sysco Chicago and Chef Brian Jupiter have partnered to feed displaced restaurant workers at Ina Mae Packaged Goods on Friday, November 13 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. Many are without work, without pay and without a support system as a result of the mandated closures to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. SYSCO Chicago and the rest of the city’s culinary community are stepping up to help.

Contact Felipe Ospina to learn more.