December 8, 2021 — The U.S. restaurant industry is once again asking for more government funding as it faces the COVID-19 omicron variant, along with vaccine mandates and high labor and food costs.
More than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the start of the pandemic, and more than 86 percent of restaurant and bar owners said they are concerned they will close without another round of grants via the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an industry trade group, said in a press release.