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DC-Area Restaurants & Bars Temporarily Suspending Business Operations Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Anchovy Social All Souls Amuse (Hotel Le Meridien Arlington) Anafre A Rake’s Progress Bad Saint Bar Deco Barley Mac Belga Cafe Ben’s Chili Bowl (Rosslyn | H Street | Nats Stadium | FedEx Field | Ben’s Next Door | Ben’s Upstairs) The Betsy Beuchert’s Saloon (takeout/delivery TBD) Bindaas (Cleveland Park & Foggy Bottom) The Bistro The Bombay Club Boqueria (Penn Quarter & Dupont) BOURBON STEAK Brasserie Beck Brew’d The Brixton...
We have a lot to share so please read this email in its entirety.      Thank you for being patient as we guide you through this most difficult and unexpected journey.  We are all learning as we go each day and our commitment is to get you through this period with resourceful information.  Here are updates for your Wednesday as well as resources you can use for your employees as needed.    Congressional Federal Relief Legislation, Phase 3  A bipartisan agreement was reached late last night on a recovery bill, with votes expected in the Senate (...
ServSafe is offering their Food Handler course online for free for the next 30 days begining Wednesday, March 25. Additionally, they are offering new COVID-19 Take Out & Delivery courses at no cost.  For 30 years, ServSafe has been at the forefront of preparing restaurant and foodservice workers to deliver safe dining experiences for their guests, while also keeping themselves safe. Every day, we train the restaurant and food service industry on topics like cooking temperatures, safe storage, and cross contamination, as well as hygiene, sanitation, and other risk mitigation...
Restaurant workers are considered essential employees that can be asked to come to work even when there are federal, state, or local, shelter-in-place Orders.  Still, more and more states and localities are restraining travel, particularly during certain hours of the day, while restaurant workers need to arrive earlier than the time restrictions to make bread, brew coffee, etc., and stay past curfew to clean, disinfect, and close the premises. Meanwhile, some restaurant workers are running into issues with law enforcement restricting workers movement to and from work.   The...
Dear Operators, We hope you are all staying strong. Here are updates for Tuesday, March 24, 2020.  Restaurant Rescue Campaign First, as we aim to tell your story and show the impact of COVID-19 on the food service industry, we will join a social media campaign tomorrow called #RESTAURANTRESCUEPLAN. We will document on social media the number of employees who work at restaurants, bars and clubs in the region that have been laid off or furloughed to powerfully present to our government leaders and the public the devastation COVID-19 has had on our industry and why we need a #...
Montgomery County Executive Elrich Supports Governor’s Executive Order to Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19; Pledges to Help Impacted Small Businesses and Residents MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2020 - Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is announcing his full support of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s order closing all nonessential business, organizations and facilities in the state of Maryland to slow the spread of COVID-19. Elrich said this is the responsible action to take to ensure residents’ safety during this unprecedented pandemic.    “I want to be...
Dear Restaurant Community,    As we start off what will likely be another busy week, we want to provide you with helpful updates on the local and national level that will impact your operations, employees and customers.    The Senate and House are currently working on Phase 3 of the COVID-19 Congressional response. This will include relief for businesses, and we will send updates as we have more clarity on what will be included in the legislation. Our partners at the National Restaurant Association are aggressively advocating on our behalf to ensure the unique needs of...
Landover, MD – Keany Produce & Gourmet has donated over $100,000 worth of fresh produce during the COVID-19 lockdown. Since Friday, March 13, 2020 through Friday, March 20, 2020, Keany has donated fresh produce to various food banks, food halls, and charities to support their efforts of supplying community members with access to fresh food. Keany has deployed their own fleet of trucks to distribute these donations across the DC-metro region. “While the effects of COVID-19 are certainly impacting our business, we want to do everything we can to support our surrounding...
MARYLAND: An executive order has been enacted by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, which closes all non-essential businesses, organizations, and facilities in Maryland effective today (Monday, March 23, 2020) at 5:00pm. Restaurants providing take out and delivery are considered essential businesses. This is NOT a shelter-in-place directive at this point. RESOURCES Maryland's Guidance on Essential/Nonessential Businesses (PDF) Order of the Governor of the State of Maryland, Number 20-03-23-01, dated March 23, 2020, Amending and Restating the Order of March 19, 2020,...
Montgomery County Department of Transportation Updates Parking Restriction Status During the COVID-19 Health Crisis Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will continue to enforce most parking rules and regulations during the COVID-19 health crisis, with some exceptions. Residents should follow normal legal practices when parking. Restricted area parking violations, disabled parking violations and safety-related violations will be strictly enforced to prioritize public safety. One modification is parking meter enforcement that has been relaxed in areas where...
So far, Congress has received more than 170,000 calls and emails urging relief for restaurants ASAP! And, there's still time to take action! If you have not taken action yet, we need your help to ensure relief for restaurants and our employees is properly addressed in the current legislative package! CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION Economic forecasts indicate restaurants and the foodservice industry could sustain $225 billion in losses and eliminate 5-7 million jobs over the next three months. By taking action, you can tell your personalized story about how this has negatively...
Dear RAMW Community,   As promised here is some end of day news as we head into the weekend.   As a reminder please visit https://www.ramw.org/blog for up to date information on all things COVID-19. We have recently posted a helpful FAQ section that answers the most frequently asked questions we have received and that will likely help you.   DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced this afternoon that restaurants will be closed for on-premise service until April 27th. She is advising people to stay indoors, but has NOT issued a shelter in place mandate. Take-out and delivery...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Comprehensive guide, updated daily, houses all state ordinances in one place so operators can quickly understand how to comply with the rules and share resources. As restaurants deal with a patchwork of mandates directing the way they operate during the coronavirus pandemic, the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe Compliance Team has created a COVID-19 Resources by State document to help operators navigate and comply with the directives and mandates coming in from across the country. The Association is...
Starting Monday March 23rd, Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken will launch a new initiative: Comfort for the Crisis, delivering food each day to those on the front lines supporting the public during the COVID-19 crisis and others who have been most impacted. Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken’s food truck will take daily deliveries of food to area hospitals and Hook Hall Helps (an initiative to support furloughed restaurant and hospitality staff). For every $500 raised, Astro will donate an additional $100 of food. Every dollar counts, so please consider...
Updated – The US Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration. Any such Economic Injury...
As much as we have been sending information around about what is happening locally across the region, it is critically important to be aware of what is happening on the national level, as a majority of funding for relief and stimulus will come at the federal level. The action taken on the Hill impacts us locally, so we must be engaged.  We have two important Congressional updates, and one involves you taking action TODAY. First, we need you to ACT NOW to ensure Congress provides adequate relief to the restaurant and small business industry! This is the "Call to...
A helpful guide for suspending/closing your restaurant under challenging and difficult circumstances Let staff take any food that cannot be frozen/saved. Remove all trash from the building/Cancel Dumpster Pickups. Take pourers off and tightly wrap open bottle tops of liquor in saran. Leave all exhaust fans running - In the unlikely event of a gas leak or pilot goes out during the closing, the fans will help to exhaust any hazardous gas from the building. Turn off any autopayment processes. Cancel any scheduled deliveries. Examples would include: Broadline Distributer...
Attention Montgomery County Restaurants, All restaurants licensed by the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners may sell sealed containers of beer and wine for off-premises consumption along with a takeout or delivered meal. This permission includes the sale of bottles, cans, growlers, and crowlers for off-premises consumption and does not include the sale of alcoholic drinks in a to-go cup. This permission does not include liquor. This permission expires when the emergency order to close restaurants is lifted. Businesses may deliver beer and wine to Montgomery County addresses...
Dear Operators, We hosted an industry-wide call this morning with regional leaders and we understand there were some technical difficulties. We had hundreds of people on the call, but as other businesses and organizations are needing to do everything by conference call, the platform was overloaded. We apologize for any inconvenience. We are synthesizing the information from the call to share on our website including FAQs and resources shared on that call. This will be available later today on our blog where we are posting all real-time updates and resources. Please share with...
Dear Restaurant Community,  We have a few important updates to share with you based on what was passed by the DC City Council and recommendations from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Tuesday, March 17, 2020. We are also sharing what is a work in progress and happening on the Federal level. This is a long email, but includes important information, so please read the entire message as most of your questions could be answered with this update.  DC Update The DC City Council just voted on Emergency Legislation, which means it goes into effect immediately upon the Mayor's...
BREAKING NEWS DC Mayor Muriel Bowser issued guidelines banning on premise dining at restaurants starting at 10pm tonight and through April 1, 2020 at 6am. Restaurants and bars are still able to offer meals to go through take out, delivery or curbside service. Read the Mayor's order here.  Tomorrow, the DC Council is introducing Emergency Legislation that will offer relief for the local industry and its workers. More to come on what this relief package looks like tomorrow.   As a reminder, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan banned on premise dining...
A Note from the Desk of RAMW's President & CEO, Kathy E. Hollinger Dear RAMW Members, I am beyond proud of the resilience of our industry. As you are all very aware, everything has been turned upside down, and this is a quickly evolving situation. This does not take away from the fact that we are a community of small businesses that through the years have successfully adapted to changing times. We are impressed with your agility during this current situation, as you put in place rapid changes that are necessary in order to put the public health of your staff, diners, friends...
As an association we are focused on protecting restaurant operators during this incredible time for you as a business owner, we have also heard from so many of you about your concerns rooted in your employees. There are some local grassroots efforts to help workers, as you may have seen.  We are collaborating with Hook Hall Helps who are helping to ensure that workers have access to to-go meals and supplies. We started a Worker Relief Fund as well that has raised $14,000+ in 48 hours. First and foremost, we needed to just act on something quickly. This will be...
PLEASE READ IMPORTANT REAL TIME UPDATES BELOW REGARDING YOUR OPERATIONS. All restaurants and community members have to be mindful as to how we are changing our operating culture to accommodate and enforce the new guidelines to ensure public health is the priority. It will require rethinking offerings and adjusting operations. We encourage you to think creatively about how your food offerings may look different. Newly Issued Guidelines for DC Restaurants and Tavern License Holders DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, has just released new guidance that directly impacts the restaurant and hospitality...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association What should your business do to prepare for a pandemic? Here are 10 steps to take now! Step 1: Maintain a healthy work environment. Ensure adequate air circulation and post tips on how to stop the spread of germs. Promote hand and respiratory hygiene. Ensure wide availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (not just in places required by law). Provide sanitizing supplies for frequent cleaning of surfaces and equipment. Remind employees to report any illness to their manager especially if they are sick with...

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