Addiego Applauds $35M in Restaurant Aid, Calls for Higher Indoor Dining Limits

Trenton – Senator Dawn Addiego today applauded the authorization of $35 million in restaurant aid and called for the Governor to revise the current indoor dining requirements to enable restaurants to survive the upcoming winter.

“The Governor’s announcement yesterday to allocate $35 million in aid to restaurants struggling to make ends meet will be crucial in providing valuable relief to our restaurant owners and food service workers,” said Senator Addiego (D-Burlington/Atlantic/Camden). “Our food industry has been among the industries hit the hardest during this pandemic and while the aid cannot completely replace the revenue they have lost, it will hopefully be a source of great assistance.

“As we approach a cooler time of year, we must reconsider the current indoor dining standards that were created a month ago and put in place new procedures that will be instrumental in helping our restaurants survive through the winter,” she said. “The temperature is dropping quickly, leaving our restaurants litte time to plan on how to remain open and serve their customers once they are no longer able to rely upon outdoor dining.”

Senator Addiego noted that restaurants complied with the stringent requirements that have been set in place over the last seven months, but it will be difficult for them financially to survive the winter months without an expansion of indoor dining capacity.

She noted that Connecticut and other states have managed to increase their indoor dining limits without causing a spike in coronavirus cases.