WASHINGTON — D.C.will soon join Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in banning all indoor dining. That decision by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was made as the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.
With increased restrictions that put a tighter strain on an industry feeling the wrath of a pandemic. Many restaurant owners spent the weekend considering closing their doors until diners are allowed to come back inside.
As employees brace for potential furloughs Hook Hall Helps is preparing to help anyone in the industry who needs relief.
Hook Hall Helps is a relief center located inside Hook Hall for hospitality workers that helps provide care kits and hot meals to current and formerly employed members of the hospitality industry. The food is prepared by local restaurants, which is compensated, to also give back and support local business. Meals and kits are handed out every Monday at Hook Hall, a beer garden and event space in Park View.
“With the indoor closures, we know that that's going to be the death knell for a lot of our colleagues in the industry,” Hook Hall owner Anna Valero said. “Knowing that on Wednesday, you'll have a lot of folks who are going to be getting those furlough notices once again we wanted to make sure that people would go into the holidays with just a little bit of hope. And the way that we can help provide hope is with hot meals.”
Hook Hall Helps has been providing hope to industry workers since the start of the pandemic. It took a pause over the summer months as outdoor dining picked up, but as the weather got colder and the restrictions got tighter Valero said the need has become evident once again.
Valero said in addition to handing meals out on Mondays they are also adding a pick up on Christmas Eve so people can go into the holiday knowing they are going to have a great holiday meal.
Valero said for some people accepting their support, this is their first time being unemployed as the number of available jobs continues to dwindle.
“I have had multiple people in the industry say to me I've never been unemployed before, if I ever was unfortunate to lose my job the beauty of the hospitality industry, especially in DC, is that you could just go get another one. There were such a plethora of restaurants and we have such a strong tourism market here, that hospitality was in a lot of ways, you know, the safest career you could be in. But now with tourism gone and downtown offices closed and you're just watching restaurants and bars and event venues close left and right, you don't have that opportunity to just get another job. And how you transition those skills right now is also just really difficult for a lot of people to do,” Valero said.
Valero said when restrictions go in place in D.C., such as a ban on indoor dining, it eliminates the need for an entire portion of a restaurant's crew, leaving some without jobs.
“There is an entire portion of your crew that can't benefit from delivery and takeout when you're only really able to have then a kitchen staff who is preparing the meals that really takes half of your crew out of the equation,” Valero said.
Valero said for some hospitality workers even though they’re employed it doesn’t mean they're not food insecure. She said that’s why Hook Hall Helps is taking care of employed and unemployed workers in this industry.
“We want to make sure people know is that even if you have a job right now that we're still here to support you and we're still here to help and we still want to encourage everyone to come out who needs it,” Valero said.
Volunteers are also needed. Information can be found HERE.
Prince George's County suspended indoor dining through Jan. 16, allowing outdoor dining to continue at 50% capacity. Montgomery County has banned all indoor dining until further notice, allowing outdoor dining to continue during restricted hours (6 a.m. -10 p.m.). Baltimore City took it one step further, shutting down all indoor and outdoor dining, allowing restaurants only to operate for takeout and delivery.