Restaurant owners are applauding Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement this week that there will not be any more lockdowns or economic shutdowns related to the pandemic.
Owners say keeping their businesses open during the holiday season will be vital. Restaurants have already lost millions of dollars due to Christmas and New Year’s party cancellations. Emily Williams Knight, the President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, says they're not the ones to blame for the spread of COVID-19. However, she warns more curfews and lockdowns are part of the problem.
“When you close regulated spaces where you can keep people at a distance, there are masks in use, and heavy sanitization, and you force them into unregulated environments, that is where the spread is happening,” Knight told KTRH.
She said in 2020, the Lone Star State has permanently lost 10,000 restaurants and billions of dollars in revenue.