The application process for the Team Kentucky Food and Beverage Fund went live Monday with over 2,600 applications received in the first two days.
The $40 million fund to help the state’s restaurants and bars was announced by the state on Nov. 18, the same day Governor Andy Beshear announced new restrictions to combat a rise in COVID-19 cases statewide. So far, over $25 million of the funding has been requested.
The latest mandate prohibits dine-in service at restaurants and bars. They are still able to do carry out, delivery, and outdoor dining.
It’s the second time in 2020 the state’s restaurant industry has been forced to close its doors to indoor dining due to COVID-19 restrictions announced by the governor.
Stacy Roof is the president of the Kentucky Restaurant Association, and she said the latest shutdown of indoor dining comes at a time when restaurants and their employees are tired of being singled out by the state.
click to download audioRoof said she had an idea that new restrictions were going to be announced last month but found out exactly what they were at the same time as everyone else – by watching the governor’s news conference.
click to download audioBeshear has said studies have proven that COVID-19 is widely spread in businesses where people are eating and drinking without masks on. Roof said she has asked for state-specific data that backs that claim. She said she has yet to see any.
click to download audioThe Kentucky Restaurant Association estimates that 20-percent of the state’s restaurants and bars will close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Roof said the KRA continues to be a voice of the restaurant industry at the state and national level.
click to download audioRoof calls the plight of the state’s restaurant industry “dire” and said it will get even worse if Congress doesn’t act to pass another round of CARES Act money for restaurants. In the meantime, she encouraged people to continue to use the carry out services and to purchase gift cards that can help give an influx of cash now to local restaurants.
