NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A new survey release Wednesday revealed nearly 50% of New York City bars and restaurants say they don’t believe they’ll survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a survey conducted by the New York City Hospitality Alliance, 46% of 401 bars and restaurants in the five boroughs said they probably would not survive post-pandemic without some sort of financial aid.
The restaurants noted that they would also need policies from the government to help them, including rent support and eviction moratoriums.
A total of 39% of the eateries said they were not sure if they could survive without support, while just 15% said they could survive.
Fred’s restaurant, on the Upper West Side, is among the hundreds of restaurants hoping for help, especially after they were hit with a fire on top of the pandemic.
“I didn’t know if we would survive either one of them,” said owner David Honors.
Though he has reopened his doors, he says operating his restaurant is a daily struggle.
“A lot of our regular regulars still have not come in for various reasons,” Honors explains.
Fred's did about a third of the business in 2020 as it did in 2019, which is in line with the findings of the NYC Hospitality Alliance’s survey.
Andrew Rigie, who heads the alliance, says more than three-fourths of respondents saw a dramatic decline in customers.
“More than 75% of the respondents saw more than half their sales decline in 2020 compared to 2019,” he said.
Rigie says thousands of restaurants are on the brink of closing.
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