Chicago restaurants seek $60 billion to help combat Covid-19

A new, Proof of Vaccination mandate for Chicago restaurants goes into effect on Jan. 3, 2022 and will require all customers to be fully vaccinated to dine-in.

Chicago Business Journal

By: Wendell Hutson

The Chicago Restaurants Coalition is seeking $60 billion in grants from the U.S. Restaurant Revitalization Fund to ensure local restaurants are ready on Monday to implement Chicago’s new proof-of-vaccination mandate.

The federal fund, which provides emergency assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other qualifying businesses impacted by Covid-19, is needed to help an industry still suffering from the pandemic, explained Roger Romanelli, coordinator for the coalition, which is comprised of 30 independent restaurant owners.

“It takes money to make changes when you are a business especially if it needs to be done quickly as this mandate requires. The coalition is recommending that restaurants install interior and exterior cameras with sound capability, but that could cost $5,000,” Romanelli told the Chicago Business Journal. “This way restaurants can check vaccination cards inside rather than outside where a staffer could catch pneumonia or get assaulted by an angry customer and now that employee could sue the owner.”

He added that another expense restaurants will encounter is hiring new staff, especially those restaurants that may opt to hire security guards to check vaccination cards.

“Bars normally have security guards at the door checking IDs for age restrictions but that’s not the case at restaurants. We are sick and tired of restaurants being falsely labeled as Covid hotspots,” said Romanelli. “All these requirements being placed on restaurants from the mayor’s proposed ordinance on sugary drinks to this new vaccination mandate will encourage people not to dine in and instead will order food online.”

The new proof-of-vaccination mandate was announced on Dec. 21 by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and it applies to dine-in restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues where food and drinks are served. It goes into effect Jan. 3, and businesses that don’t comply with the new mandate could be fined $500 per day.

According to Romanelli, Boston and Washington, D.C., also have proof-of-vaccination mandates in place for restaurants to follow but it does not start until Jan. 15 after giving a 30-day notice.

Cesar Rodriguez, a spokesman for the mayor, told the CBJ that in the past businesses have stepped up to keep the city safe and now the mayor is asking those businesses to step up again.

“The city has hosted business education webinars to advise businesses on the vaccine requirement. The mayor is committed to protecting the health and safety of Chicago residents and our many visitors,” explained Rodriguez. “In response to the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases both locally and nationally, the city announced that proof of vaccination will be required to dine indoors, visit gyms, or enjoy entertainment venues where food or drinks are served.”

The Illinois Restaurant Association also supports the new mandate.

“Chicago’s hospitality community is in a very fragile stage of recovery. Throughout the pandemic, the industry has prioritized customer and team member safety above all else, and the IRA strongly supports vaccinations for everyone to mitigate the spread of Covid-19,” said Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

On Monday, the coalition submitted a letter to Mayor Lightfoot asking her to contact Illinois’ two U.S. senators to request more federal grant money for restaurants; delay the start date for the new mandate until Jan. 15; and ask the Chicago Police Department to post instructions on its website about how restaurant owners should handle angry customers.