In an effort to help restaurant operators decipher what the $2 trillion stimulus package means for them, Kitchen United is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, according to a company press release emailed to The Spoon. The event, slated for Tuesday, March 31, will be an “instructional webinar for restaurant operators of any size” to better understand how they can take advantage of the stimulus package.
President Trump signed The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act into law on Friday. Among other things, it will provide $803 billion in loans to businesses, $349 billion of which is dedicated to small businesses.
As with most legislation, the stimulus package is massive and chock-a-block full of legal jargon, and that’s where Kitchen United is stepping in. The webinar will help restaurants understand if they qualify for any relief, how much they can expect to receive, and how to apply for it. KU’s CFO Michael Montagano will host the online event, sharing tips on the above topics and more. Jim Collins, who in addition to being CEO of Kitchen United is also a restaurant owner, will also share his experience and thoughts around the process of applying for relief.
It’s an understatement to say restaurants are struggling in the wake of forced dining room closures happening around the country. While businesses may remain open for delivery and takeout orders, the reality is that switching to those off-premises formats isn’t an overnight process — nor an affordable one, in some cases. Some restaurants are already saying they’ll have to close locations permanently, while others have furloughed employees. And with the social distancing guidelines now extended through the end of April, the struggle for restaurants is far from over.
Collins recently told me that lack of information and misinformation are two big problems restaurants face amid this crisis, which is presumably what next week’s webinar discusses. “We need to start to address that, but then there are series of concrete things we’re working on to see if we can’t help folks start to deal with all of this successfully,” he said.
Collins added that Kitchen United is working on a number of forthcoming initiatives designed to help restaurants during this time.
Those interested in joining next week’s webinar can go here for details. A replay will also be made available via the Kitchen United website.
Leave a Reply