You are here

Job Board, Regional Reminders and National Updates

August 11, 2020

It has been 5 months since our world has been turned upside down and operations have had to be reimagined and reworked. While the face of dining looks different right now, your businesses and staff remain at the core of your success. As you continue to gradually bring more staff back to your restaurant, I want to encourage you to use the RAMW Job Board that is a FREE tool to use for RAMW members. We share job opportunities through social media platforms and through the networks that have been created around worker relief during this time. Posting is simple, click here to login and post jobs now, and see the easy-to-follow instructions here. 

While there have not been any major updates over the last few days, as always we want to share a few reminders and news from across the region. 

Private Events: As you continue to find new ways to reimagine your businesses models, we have received many questions regarding private events and how space may be utilized in safe and compliant ways. Here is a quick reminder of the guidance in each jurisdiction. 

In DC, as set forth by ABRA in their rulemaking, gatherings of no more than 50 people are allowed as long as it is 50% or less of your occupancy limit, and social distancing measures must be in place with no more than 6 people seated at a table. There cannot be a standing component to the event, and all guests must be seated. 

In Virginia, social gatherings should be limited to 50% occupancy of the event space or 250 participants, whichever is less. Limit the occupancy of spaces to ensure that six feet of physical distance can be maintained between all organizers, staff, volunteers, and attendees who are not members of the same household, and reconfigure seating areas to allow six feet of physical distance between individuals.

In Maryland, events held within a licensed food service establishment must comply with all occupancy and face covering requirements as defined by the executive order. Currently the occupancy is set at 50%. 

In DC, Mayor Bowser released an updated list of high-risk states that require a mandatory 14-day quarantine for people who travelled to these states for nonessential reasons. I want to note that Delaware is no longer on this list. Click here for the list and to see what states were added and what states were removed.  

ZOOM WITH DDOT: We have scheduled a zoom  meeting with the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Mayor's Office of Nightlife and Culture (MONC) to discuss questions and issues  as restaurants choose to utilize public space and streateries in creative ways. We invite you to join us in this dialogue to answer any outstanding questions related to outdoor space. This will take place on Friday, August 14th at 4pm, and we hope you are able to join us. Please RSVP to eden@ramw.org. Also note this meeting is only open to RAMW restaurant members. 

LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR BLACK AND MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES:  As we have stated earlier, we are committed to addressing racial inequity in our industry and our approach is deliberate, intentional and ongoing. Our priority is and will continue to be to help our operators across the region provide safe and equitable spaces for Black and Minority owned businesses and their staff, and one deliberate way is to develop impactful public policy. We have worked closely with many elected officials to offer guidance on how to provide legislative solutions to address inequities in our city.  Despite a challenging budget, Councilmember McDuffie was able to fund some key policy objectives that resulted in an initial $7 million investment in racial equity. Below are a few key pieces relevant to the business community. 

Creates an Equity Impact Fund to provide access to capital for minority and women owned businesses.

Establishes a new Certified Business Enterprise designation, Equity Impact Enterprises, to address structural impediments to opportunities faced by many women and minority owned businesses.

Expands funding to equity impact enterprises in Wards 5, 7, and 8.

Creates the Business Recovery Task Force to provide recommendations regarding the recovery of the District’s businesses following the end of the COVID-19 emergency. 

For more information on this legislation please contact eden@ramw.org

As we continue to work with legislators across the region, we will use tenants from DC’s initial efforts to ensure leaders are considering what may need to be considered as all small businesses are able to reopen, reset and recover.  

FREE 6 FT DECALS: RAMW partner, DC Health Link has created floor decals to remind customers to maintain 6 feet between themselves and others. These decals will be an aid to members reconfiguring business operations to keep patrons safe and healthy, while complying with the Mayor’s orders for social distancing. Up to six FREE decals can be ordered by emailing us at coronavirus@ramw.org; please indicate if you prefer round or square decals. DC Health Link has taken several steps to reduce financial barriers making it easier to enroll in quality, comprehensive health insurance coverage. Remember to get covered DC!

In Virginia, as we did in DC, we are exploring mechanisms of relief and are planning to push for permanent alcohol to go, and are also exploring the possibility of supporting a cap of third party delivery fees. These two measures have arisen from feedback from our Virginia operators, and we want to make sure we hear from everyone, so if you haven’t already, please take this 5-question survey to make sure we capture your feedback.  Click here to take the survey--if you have already taken the survey, please do not take it again. 

The General Assembly will start their special session August 18th, and it is unlikely there is an appetite from the elected officials to address these issues during the Special Session as the scope of the session is deliberately very narrow. As we head into the fall, we will strengthen our advocacy efforts to ensure we have a strong coalition heading into the Regular Session in January 2021. The ongoing state of the pandemic suggests that the Governor’s Emergency Order(s), which allows for alcohol to go will not expire before the start of the 2021 Session, which is why we will explore this in the regular session instead of the special. If you are interested in getting more involved in our advocacy efforts, please let us know. 

On the national front, tune in for the latest National Restaurant Association 2-minute update on what is happening with relief efforts at the federal level, including Trump’s latest Executive Orders. Click here for the video. Also on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. EDT, Join Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association, for a comprehensive webinar overview of the latest restaurant relief programs from Congress. Click here to register.

I also want to take a few minutes to draw your attention to IRC and their potential ties with Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC). As you know, ROC is making a strong push to eliminate the tip credit across the country and is behind the One Fair Wage campaign. Last week IRC tweeted, "The road to a better future for the restaurant industry runs through independent restaurants--independent in every way from the low-road corporate chain lobbies that have worked to suppress worker wages and repress justice....saving independent restaurants is the essential 1st step in a high-road restaurant revolution that includes ending the legacy of slavery that is the subminimum wage for tipped workers..."  This was also retweeted by ROC.

At this time when business operations are so strained and you are struggling to employ people at any level, we stress the importance of allowing autonomy over your operations, and are concerned with IRC's tweet. While some of you are considering adopting any and all options as you try to keep your businesses and staff afloat, the choices on how to operate should always remain yours and not ever mandated or imposed by special interest organizations outside of our market, particularly during a pandemic while we are the most fragile financially and operationally. We share this information with you today, because IRC has brought a lot of positive attention to our industry since the pandemic struck, and we applaud and support them nationally for their valiant efforts,  but we want to make sure you are aware of the full picture as their narrative grows.  This is only a note about awareness for each of you as you are making decisions daily on how to sustain your operations.  

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions at coronavirus@ramw.org

Be safe. Be kind. Wear a mask. 

Best, 

Kathy