While restaurants are virtually shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, they have been allowed to continue with delivery and carryout service.
But for some businesses, that is not nearly enough to keep employees afloat.
“We have expenses and bills and rent like everybody else,” said Peter Nguyen, a bartender with Quincy’s Bar and Grill in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “It’s crazy once you think about how much business we’re losing.”
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With April rent about to be due, service industry employees like Nguyen are feeling the pinch.
And it can be a scary time.
“Our sales are based on people coming in, having dinner, hanging out at the bar and enjoying our bands,” said Nguyen, who noted that his main income is based on tips. “What we’re used to getting on a weekly basis basically I haven’t gotten in the past two weeks.”
Nguyen said many people in his position have filed for unemployment.
Some have also taken advantage of emergency grants being provided from the U.S. Bartenders Guild.
“The first thing we think of is ‘can we afford this?'” Nguyen said. “What are you going to do? Just try to ride it out like everybody else.”
