Pennsylvania restaurant owners have been crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shut down for months after Gov. Tom Wolf imposed the first statewide stay-at-home order April 1, they were allowed to finally reopen.

But on July 15, Wolf limited restaurants to 25 percent indoor capacity and permitted alcoholic beverage sales only with food purchases.

Wolf said he implemented the new restrictions because of a spike in coronavirus cases fueled by young people gathering in bars and restaurants.

The decision, which has been met with significant criticism, has shuttered more restaurants than the first wave of restrictions did.

“It came out of the blue and without much logic behind it,” Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association President John Longstreet said. “And it has been devastating.”

Fighting for their lives, restaurant owners rallied in Pittsburgh last week to urge a return to 100 percent indoor capacity as long as social distancing measures are in place.

“Restaurants need direct cash flow to get through this,” Longstreet said. “I’m not sure it is going to get back to normal before the end of the year.”

A $120 billion relief package for independent restaurants is making its way through Congress, and on it rides the hopes of an industry that accounts for nearly 4 percent of the nation’s GDP.

As of Friday, the RESTAURANTS Act has gained the support of 188 congressional co-sponsors, Restaurant Engine reports.

Though the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) delivered $659 billion to the nation’s economy, just 8.1 percent of its funds went to hospitality businesses.

“America’s 500,000 independent restaurants are a vital piece of every community and neighborhood, large and small,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in announcing the act. “Few industries have been as uniformly ravaged as the food service industry. They need relief now.”

The act would benefit food service or drinking establishments that are not publicly traded or part of a chain with 20 or more locations. Grant amounts would be administered by the Department of the Treasury, and would cover the difference between reported revenues from 2019 and projected revenues through 2020.

Help also hopefully is on the way from the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

A proposal introduced in the state Senate would provide emergency relief to bars and restaurants significantly impacted by COVID-19. The seven-point proposal includes the creation of a $100 million grant program using federal CARES Act funds.

The sentiment of many in the industry is they can sustain only for so long. Outdoor dining offers short-term relief, and winter weather is just around the corner.

We urge both Congress and the state Legislature to take swift action to ensure the restaurant industry does not become another casualty of this deadly pandemic.

— JGG