‘Bar Rescue’ star says coronavirus aid package ‘falls short’ for restaurants
Jon Taffer tells FBN it's 'ridiculous' deal didn't happen before election
The restaurant industry has been floundering for federal support amid the coronavirus pandemic, and "Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer says the new proposed relief package just isn't cutting it.
Taffer told FOX Business Network's “Making Money with Charles Payne” Monday that regardless of how much money in the plan, it’s “too late” to provide the necessary support to the industry anyway.
“Why this didn’t happen before the election is ridiculous,” he said. “The package was larger before the election than it is now. It falls short in that it doesn’t give the resources necessary to the industry to sustain itself.”
The roughly $900 billion legislation includes a second round of stimulus checks, $45 billion in airline industry aid, tax breaks for PPP recipients and $325 billion for small business relief.
WHAT'S IN THE NEW $900B CORONAVIRUS RELIEF PACKAGE?
A server carries food for a customer at Ye Olde King's Head on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Even though those numbers seem massive, Taffer said many of America’s restaurants are in six or seven months’ worth of debt and 70% of restaurants nationwide are single-unit owners. In some cases, both spouses rely on the same income from same business, which he said is “burying” owners in up-to-their-neck “quicksand.”
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“We’re in so deep, we’re sinking,” he said. “And the rope that you’re getting is not going to pull you out anymore ... It is a death sentence.”
“They need dollars to dig out,” he added. “And this plan doesn’t provide that.”
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Fox News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.