Half of U.S. restaurants may shutter if Congress does not refill the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, survey finds

With the Omicron variant devastating the nation’s already-battered restaurant industry this winter, a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) captures a grim picture of the hospitality sector. Forbes reports that nearly half of restaurant operators surveyed who did not receive any aid through the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund couldn’t envision running their businesses beyond the pandemic without a grant. Seventy-six percent, meanwhile, said business was worse in January compared to three months prior. The findings further bolstered the NRA’s call that Congress refill the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund, whose $28.6 billion was depleted three weeks after the spring 2021 launch; more than half of the 278,304 restaurateurs who applied for money received nothing. —Matthew Sedacca