U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said Tuesday she is advocating for Congress to fully fund the Restaurant Revitalization Funding (RRF) program for all businesses that qualify.
The RRF was launched in spring 2021 to help restaurants overcome debt they incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was enough funding in the program to grant money to about half of the eligible restaurants in the state, Cantwell said.
Now, she is involved in a bipartisan effort in the Senate to fully fund the program so restaurant owners who did not get funds the first time around will receive government relief, she said.
She met online Tuesday with four restaurant owners in the state to listen to their stories with the intent of bringing them back to her colleagues in the Senate, she said.
Washington Hospitality Association CEO Anthony Anton was also in attendance.
The restaurant owners shared how their businesses are struggling amid omicron, staffing shortages, rising food prices and supply chain issues.
"The omicron surge is impacting staff in a way that it hasn't in the past," said Steve Valenta, a restaurant owner in Vancouver.
As a sector that is still regaining employees lost at the start of the pandemic, hospitality has been hit especially hard by workforce shortages.
In 2021, workers in the leisure and hospitality sector increased by 37% in Skagit County, but December saw a loss of 100 workers in the sector, according to the state Employment Security Department.
Julia Phillip owns Sisters Espresso in Bow and Whistle Stoppe Coffee Shoppe in Mount Vernon.
She said she had to close for several days due to a shortage of staff.
Nick Crandall owns two restaurants — Train Wreck Bar and Grill and Railroad Pub and Pizza — in Burlington. Neither has had to close due to workforce shortages.
Crandall employs about 80 workers between the two restaurants and credits his crew and management team for keeping the doors open.
In addition to the workforce shortage, supply chain issues and increased cost of food are major concerns for restaurant owners.
"Prices are just killing us," Oliver Bangera, owner of Nirmals in Seattle, said.
Bangera used to pay $22 for a case of king mackerel for his restaurant. Now he pays $69 a case, he said.
He can't increase prices to match the increased price of fish because his customers would not pay triple the price, Bangera said.
Allen Rhoades, owner of the Rockfish Grill in Anacortes, says the cost of food is the biggest factor impacting his business right now.
Phillip agrees.
A couple months ago, an increases in the price of hot dogs and hot dog buns meant she earned 26 cents per hot dog sold.
If Phillip chose to raise her prices to match the high cost of food and beverage products, her customers would take their business somewhere that maintained cheaper prices, she said.
"It tricky," Phillip said. "The cost of goods is just exponential right now."
Rhoades received help in the first round of RRF. He plans to use the money to expand his outdoor seating.
Restaurant owners may use funds to alleviate debt they incurred during the pandemic, but the list of eligible uses also includes outdoor seating, payroll and food and beverage expenses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Anton said there are about 4,000 restaurants in the state that qualified for financial help the last time around but did not receive money.
Cantwell hopes to double the amount that was in the fund last time to help the businesses that have yet to receive funding, she said.
As a member of the Senate's small business committee, Cantwell said she will take the stories of the four restaurants owners who spoke with her Tuesday back to Washington, D.C., and advocate for another round of funding.
About 75% of workers in the country are employed by small businesses, Cantwell said.
As Anton pointed out, the hospitality industry is predominantly made up of small businesses.
"The omicron variant of the COVID pandemic is just one more wave of pressure on our local restaurants which are such great employers for our community," Cantwell said.
