More than a year ago, my Instagram page was filled with colorful pictures of dishes created by talented New Jersey chefs. The appetizing and eye-catching photos only provided a small glimpse into the lives of these hardworking men and women, who toil daily in hot kitchens, from morning to night, often only getting a few hours of shuteye before having to go back in again to face the glowing flames of their stoves.

I hosted and produced a New Jersey food show for close to three years, traveling the Turnpike with an incredible television crew, featuring the diverse restaurants that dot the Garden State. What I learned through interviews and the people we met along the way is the majority of chefs in New Jersey also own the restaurants they work in. Many are mom-and-pop spots, including those iconic Jersey Diners, some passed down from generations. Others, fine dining or trendy restaurants, where chefs and owners work tirelessly to make a name for themselves.

Every restaurateur and chef has a backstory, filled with struggles, triumphs and everything in between. The pandemic is testing the very fabric of this close-knit industry, where back and front-of-the-house employees become part of a restaurateur’s family, and customers, the lifeline to their financial existence.

Many restaurants in New Jersey are now hanging by a thread. The state’s COVID-19 restrictions only allow indoor dining at 25 percent capacity.  With the cold weather already here, outdoor dining is now almost non-existent. Restaurateurs are hurting, wondering if they’ll survive the coming months, which health officials predict may be the pandemic’s darkest period.

Sheree Sarabhaya (pictured, right, by photographer Cathy Miller) is the chef and owner of Kai Yang in Montclair. The restaurant’s name literally translates to “grilled chicken” in Thai and is an ode to Sarabhaya’s childhood, growing up in Bangkok. She’s owned several other restaurants in New Jersey over the past 14 years, working day and night, to become a symbol of the American Dream. This year, though, that dream seems to be quickly fading away.

“I try to survive because of my people,” said Sarabhaya, referring to her staff. “It’s tough right now, they’ve been with me for 10 years and a part of my family. The customers have become family, too, and it’s why we try to keep the menu simple.”

By “simple” the restaurateur means “affordable” because she says her customers are struggling, too, because many have lost their jobs. She’s also working longer hours and focusing on her take-out business because with only seven tables in the restaurant, there’s virtually no money to be made in-house.

Najee Beyah and his brother, Nadir, opened 4 Brothers Breakfast in Warren back in 2016, offering Southern comfort food. The brothers were forced to shut down for a couple of months during the pandemic but reopened, also concentrating on take-out.

“It started snowballing, you’re trying to pay your current expenses and you’re not making money — I mean, the money you used to make,” Najee Beyah said. “My regular $500 electric bill is now $6000 because I am behind.”

Sarabhaya, the Beyah brothers and countless other restaurateurs are in desperate need of Federal help. They say Washington’s turning its backs on them, even though the financial woes they’re facing because of COVID-19 restrictions are through no fault of their own.

According to the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, about 36 percent of restaurant operators in the Garden State say it’s unlikely they’ll be open after the New Year.

New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association President and CEO Marilou Halvorsen says it’s a frightful time financially for restaurant owners, especially as they approach the holidays.

Halvorsen held a virtual session Tuesday with a number of the state’s Congressional representatives. In attendance, Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, as well as House members Tom Malinowski, Josh Gottheimer, Andy Kim, Mikie Sherrill and Chris Smith. The topic of conversation — a stimulus package that could help restaurant owners, hotels and other businesses make it through at least the winter. But the proposal being hampered  because of disagreements between Republicans and Democrats.

Senator Menendez is pushing for a $908 billion stimulus package crafted by a bipartisan group of legislators. The proposal provides  another round of unforgivable loans to businesses but no direct help to restaurants. Some Democrats hint the deal could be finalized Monday.

“Please don’t let perfect get in the way of getting something done because it’s Christmas,” Halvorsen said. “These restaurants are trying to figure out whether to stay open or to close, either to close permanently or temporarily, and knowing some kind of stimulus could come, could help them stay open.”

Congressman Malinowski said it would be “unconscionable” for Congress to leave Washington for the holiday recess without a stimulus package. The Jersey delegation, including the only Republican, Smith, vowed to forge on through the holidays in order to help rescue restaurants, businesses, the unemployed and to provide money for COVID-19 vaccine distribution programs.

“We are in a crisis in our state,” said Senator Booker, who blames his colleague, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell for the lack of movement on the stimulus package. “This is crushing, especially in our Brown and Black communities. Most of us on this call have had friends, who have died or have been on a ventilator.”

“They’re going to go home and have their Christmas and nothing is going to change for them,” said Halvorsen, blasting both Democrats and Republicans. “It is dire for literally thousands and thousands of people that they are supposed to represent. Right now, they should not have the luxury of going home without getting something done.”

The owners of 4 Brothers Breakfast are not sure if they’ll make it through the holidays. Across from their restaurant stands Spice Isle, an African-American owned restaurant like theirs, which has temporarily shut down. The Chef and owner of the Caribbean restaurant is a former company CEO, who left the business world to follow her passion for cooking.

Celebrity Chef David Burke, who owns and is a partner in restaurants spanning across New Jersey, New York City and North Carolina, says it’s heartbreaking to watch his beloved industry on the brink of collapse. Burke, who grew up in Monmouth County and still lives in New Jersey, permanently closed Orange Lawn in South Orange. The legendary restaurateur, who is part of a group of American chefs responsible for revolutionizing the American Fine Dining scene, says he may shut down another restaurant in New York City.

“Look at David Burke Tavern, I am going to close it in January, I am losing money,” said Burke, known for his whimsical take on food and the author of several cookbooks. “We were very appreciative of the original PPP money because we thought it would be short-term, and it helped in the short-term, but that’s all gone.”

Burke says the biggest problem for restaurants right now is cash flow and the uncertainty about the future. He doesn’t know who to blame — state officials or Washington politicians — but he’s angry that restaurants are being unfairly treated.

“Since day one, the restaurant industry has been singled out as the spreaders,” Burke said. “As if it was a food-born illness, like the virus comes from kitchens — it doesn’t come from liquor stores, it doesn’t come from supermarkets, nor the people flying on planes. You can go on a plane, you can play professional sports and go to Walmart. Supermarkets are packed. but no one is watching them to see if they’re social distancing.”

Burke understands the difference between restaurants and other venues. While masks are mandatory in grocery stores and other businesses, in restaurants, diners have to take them off to eat. Burke says restaurants have always had high standards when it comes to sanitizing, but he’s now suggesting something else if it means staying open. Sending government employees to restaurants to keep an eye on customers.

“Pay two employees of the government, and the board of health,” Burke said, “that would save us all a hell of a lot of money.”

Steve Bidgood, the owner of Salt Creek Grille in both Rumson and Princeton, knows what it’s like to close restaurants. He and his partners shut down three California restaurants after Governor Gavin Newsom suspended both indoor and outdoor dining because of COVID-19 surges. They had to furlough employees, including managers. He wants Congress to do its job.

“They have to work together for the people and the country,” Bidgood said. “This is survival right now, and in order for us to survive, these people have to talk and get some common sense into them. Gosh, Republicans, Democrats, put everything aside and do it for the good of the country.”

Bidgood’s New Jersey restaurants are losing money. He’s thankful for his customers’ support and the dedication of his staff. Before the pandemic, the holidays were the busiest time of the year for restaurants like Salt Creek Grille. Bidgood says he remembers having up to five holiday parties a day back then, but now, he can’t have any.

For the 64-year-old, 2020’s been a terribly unkind year overall. He ended up in the hospital for hip replacement surgery, as his businesses suffered financially.

“A week later,” Bidgood told me, as he cried, “it’s really emotional, one week later, I had emergency stomach surgery.”

Bidgood made it back to his beloved restaurants, using a walker. He’s known for his kindness and generosity. Bidgood’s raised a million dollars over the years for different charities.

Just like Burke, he’s the proud recipient of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association’s Restaurateur of the year award.

“I never thought I would go through this at 64 years old and see what I am seeing out there,” he said, referring to the restaurants he’s seeing permanently shut down.

Burke says even though his businesses are hemorrhaging, he’s seizing the opportunity to invest in new ventures that could bear fruit in the future. Burke’s opened two new restaurants in New Jersey, including Orchard Park in East Brunswick. He’s even got a new restaurant in Saudi Arabia.

“I look at this as just another detour in the road,” said Burke, who started going to church again during the pandemic. “I’m the leader of a company and I need to stay positive because if I don’t, they (staff) see nervousness in my eyes — the ones we still have working — I don’t want them to bail.”

Some of Burke’s staff members have been by his side for years. The restaurant industry hopes that soon with a new COVID-19 vaccine there will be some light at the end of the tunnel. Burke, though, says he’s pretty certain the industry will take a blow, with a lot less people going to Culinary School.

“Why would they spend money in a business that’s being hammered,” Burke added.