VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce recently conducted research on the restaurant industry’s impact from COVID-19. The results are unsettling for many restaurant owners.
Chris Savvides, the owner of Black Angus in Virginia Beach is one of them.
“I’m truly terrified what’s going to happen in September, October," said Savvides.
Savvides's concerns echo the findings of a recent study from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.
HRCC Small Businesses Vice President Jim Carroll took a close look at what's at stake.
“One was a website I subscribed to called Restaurant Business and that talked about the fact that of 30 percent of small businesses, small restaurants, independent restaurants are very strapped for cash and they will not survive through October," said Carroll.
Carroll explained some hard to hear information about the restaurant industry.
“Another food supplier said that 40 to 50 percent of his businesses, his customers will be out of business by the end of the year," said Carroll.
“If there’s not substantial support and help or this atmosphere of going out and dining with restrictions and things do not change, that could be a very modest estimate unfortunately," said Savvides.
Carroll is posing an option for businesses: bankruptcy.
"It gives them some breathing space to redo their business model, possible find additional sources of revenue and it keeps them from having to pay creditors for a period of time," said Carroll.
Carroll explained this upcoming week, the federal government will open up Paycheck Protection Program Loan forgiveness portal. The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce also provides free business counseling. They've served 400 small businesses since the pandemic started.
Savvides is also a member of the National Restaurant Association. Savvides provided their latest statistics as of April 2020.