Dozens of Minnesota business owners release video testimonials asking for financial relief
A representative from the Grandview Lodge in Brainerd, Minn. gives a video testimonial asking legislators and the Governor for financial relief after the latest round of business restrictions.
(FOX 9) - Hospitality Minnesota released video testimonials from owners and employees of businesses affected by the state’s latest COVID-19-related restrictions Wednesday as they urged legislators and the Governor to pass financial aid.
In a release, Hospitality Minnesota called potential relief a “lifeline” until federal aid is passed. It has been 18 days since the most recent executive order from the Governor that closed bars and restaurants among other businesses.
Among the testimonials were representatives from Grandma’s Restaurant in Duluth, Murray’s Restaurant in Minneapolis, the Original Pancake House in Maple Grove and Minnetonka and the Hilton and Crowne Plaza hotels in Minneapolis, among others.
According to a survey from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank and Hospitality Minnesota, over half of the state’s restaurants and 30 percent of its hotels face permanent closure due to the pandemic.
The industry supports 1 in 10 jobs in Minnesota and has lost about 80,000 of them this year.
The organization sent a letter to the Governor in November proposing relief actions. Hospitality Minnesota says the Governor used parts of that proposal in his own proposed relief package. Negotiations are ongoing at the capitol.