INDIANAPOLIS — I am no barfly, but the contours of my social life have come inside dozens of Hoosier restaurants and taverns and social clubs.
Whether it was midnight at Santino's after putting the Elkhart Truth to bed with the presses roaring in the background, a breezy summer day on the top deck of Matey's in Michigan City, catching a couple sets of jazz at the Chatterbox in downtown Indy, or watching a Thursday night NFL game with Coach and crew at Big Woods in Nashville, these watering holes served up beer and comfort food for me, my colleagues, friends and family over the years.
At the Rathskeller in the Athenaeum, when I walk in, Wayne the bartender automatically serves me up a medium Spaten lager. The Truth's election night team always met for dinner at Casey's before the polls closed. I can take my dogs for dinner at Plump's Last Shot in Broad Ripple, stop in at the institution of sorts also known as Frog Tavern on a channel off Lake Wawasee, enjoy prime rib at the Heston Super Club, debate politics and sports at Nick's English Hut in Bloomington, or grab a late dinner at Rick's Boatyard after a day of Hobie catting on Eagle Creek Res.
But the pandemic has brought dark, dark days for many of our most cherished local gathering spots.
According to an Indiana restaurant impact survey by the National Restaurant Association, 20% of Hoosier restaurants have closed since this pandemic began. Another 33% say they likely won't be in business six months from now. Some 87% say staffing levels have been reduced and there has been a 17% staff decline since September, when Gov. Eric Holcomb put the state into Stage 5 of the pandemic reopening. Another 29% are considering temporary closure until enough of the population has been vaccinated.
Nationally, since March there have been 110,000 bars and restaurants closed.
“These results prove that Indiana restaurant business conditions continued to deteriorate the past three months without any additional federal relief,” Patrick Tamm, CEO of the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association, said. “It is imperative that the hospitality industry be considered in a federal relief package to keep employees working and restaurants in business.”
“The restaurant industry simply cannot wait for relief any longer,” Sean Kennedy of the National Restaurant Association, said in a letter to Congress. “What these findings make clear is that more than 500,000 restaurants of every business type — franchise, chain and independent — are in an economic free fall.”
At this writing, according to Politico Playbook, with just nine days left before Congress adjourns for the year, "There’s no bill, no sense of who is in charge, no breakthroughs on any long-held policy disputes. And we have no idea whether the tens of millions of Americans who need continued support from the government will get it.”
There has been an abject lack of leadership in Washington.
President Trump has, for all intents and purposes, already checked out, spending the last weeks of his administration barely acknowledging this pandemic engulfing the nation, pushing to overturn the will of the people during the election in an exercise of futility. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking business liability protection. Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants aid to state and local governments and $1,200 relief checks for every American (McConnell at Republicans have, apparently, settled on $600). They’re all talking past each other.
At a time when Americans want their leaders to work in a bipartisan manner, the powers that be in Washington have dug into their worn-out ruts.
Congress acted quickly last spring as American shut down, passing the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in late March that gave relief resources to local and state governments, individuals and businesses. Now this pandemic is in its third wave, threatening to swamp our medical systems as these infections are well into extensive community spread.
"The state of Indiana is on fire," Gov. Holcomb said Wednesday. "Every Indiana county is in red. Our nurses and doctors are overwhelmed. We have got to react to that reality."
As I've pointed out in recent columns, medical staffers are exhausted due to the swamping of our medical system. But hospitality workers have also been on the front lines, risking their health to keep our community pubs and restaurants open.
A study last summer revealed between 49,000 to 109,000 Indiana hospitality workers — or up to 37% of the state’s total hospitality workforce — could lose jobs by the end of the year because of the pandemic. These are workers who have bartended, bell-hopped, worked check-in, served food, waited tables, washed dishes, and cooked meals for Hoosiers for years.
"They’ve made a career out of serving Hoosiers," the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association said. "Now it is time to return the favor."
How can you help? Call your Member of Congress or senator to tell them you expect them to do their jobs in this time of crisis.
Over the past months, my wife and I have ordered carryout at least once a week from Capri, Arni's, Bazbeaux Pizza, the District Tap, Union Jack's and Binkley's near our home in Broad Ripple. Don't hesitate to do the same with your local restaurants and pub.
Doing so may ensure they'll be around once this wicked pandemic ends next summer.
The columnist is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com. Find Howey on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol.
