BUFFALO, N.Y. — Since mid-November, restaurants have been struggling under state-ordered orange zone restrictions. Now they’re fighting back, including a class action lawsuit filed by nearly 40 restaurant owners, as well as a petition signed by more than 15,000 calling on the governor and state legislators to allow reopening.
“There’s a lot of frustration out there and so much uncertainty on when are the numbers going to flatten, what are the metrics to reopen and what do the numbers have to look like to get out us out of the orange zone and into yellow,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.
There are other actions government can and should take to help restaurants, she said. At the federal level, funding assistance is the most obvious. She pointed to the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program, which includes a carve-out for restaurants, and the possibility of a third round.
You can read read the full story from our partners at Buffalo Business First here.
