The good news, as I reported last week, is that the prohibition on indoor dining at New York City’s restaurants will finally end on Sept. 30. The not-so-good news, as I wrote the following day, is that local restaurateurs are not thrilled with the many restrictions the city is imposing on their beleaguered businesses.
Now for some even worse news: On Wednesday New York’s City Council approved legislation that would add up to a 10% “COVID-19 Recovery Charge” to customers’ bills to help out struggling restaurant owners and assist them in getting their businesses off the ground again.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for helping out our friends in the restaurant industry who have managed to brave the storm so far. But some restaurateurs are concerned that the move will drive away customers who have been having a rough time themselves financially during the pandemic. There is also the fear that patrons will wrongly view the upcharge as part of the waiter’s tip.
New York is not the only locale to impose a surcharge. That knowledge may come as cold comfort to owners for whom the surcharge may well be the last nail in their business’s coffin.
(h/t NBC New York)
