In spite of the Governor’s announcement on Thursday of last week, some restaurant owners say they will allow employees to keep serving patrons, keep their jobs and provide for their families. In her press conference last week Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham rolled back some of the allowances for eateries across the state. Indoor dining is no longer allowed in NM restaurants and outdoor dining, for the businesses that have that option, will be limited to 50% capacity. The Governor is insistent that the move to scale back openings is in response to the surging number of COVID-19 cases in the state, and not to punish citizens for what she sees as an attempted “return to normalcy.”
NMBC has heard that restaurants from around the state are remaining open, and for good reason. A spokesperson from the restaurant industry says there are thousands of employees who rely on their jobs to provide for their families. With enhanced unemployment benefits for COVID running out at the end of July, the need for continued employment is the central focus for employees across the state. Many restaurants were also blindsided by the abrupt closure orders by the Governor. Things like needing to cancel deliveries and the reality of how to use their remaining inventory before it spoils are real, amounting to hundreds of thousands of lost dollars across the state. Some restaurants, already severely hurting from the previous period of mandated closure cannot survive any longer, never knowing from day to day if they will be allowed to remain open. Read more HERE.