For Immediate Release: 1/27/2021
Contact:
Derek Baziotis, 509-979-6079
Spokane Chair of Washington Hospitality Association & owner of Bene’s
Local Spokane and Whitman County Mayors, elected officials and civic business associations are uniting to request that Governor Jay Inslee immediately increase indoor restaurant capacity to 50 percent. Local restauranteurs have banded together to make the case that 25% restaurant capacity and take-out alone will not keep workers employed and sustain their businesses. We firmly believe that restaurants can operate safely by adhering to health recommendations regarding masking up and social distancing.
A local group of restaurant owners have recently joined together and created a series of video commercials stressing that take-out and twenty-five percent capacity will not sustain their business.
“Twenty-five percent capacity will guarantee one-hundred percent failure,” said Mark Starr of David’s Pizza as he stares blankly into the camera.
Ken Belisle, The Onion and Frank’s Diner owner, said, “Restaurants cannot survive on take-out alone.” Articulating what dining establishments and the restaurant association have been saying for months.
Derek Baziotis, the Spokane Chair of the Washington Hospitality Association commented that “We need the public to understand that the Governor’s roadmap will devastate our industry.”
In a press release dated January 5th, Washington Hospitality Association President & CEO Anthony Anton said,“[the Governor’s] announcement is not a roadmap to recovery. It is a roadmap to a near-complete collapse of main street neighborhood restaurants and hospitality businesses…. We know that the increase in cases over the last two months is due to private social behavior – not restaurants. In fact, restaurants provide a place with effective protections that allow people to gather safely, but not while we’re closed.”
Both the local spot and the Hospitality Association press release stress that the hospitality industry is trying to work with the Governor’s plan. Their problem is the capacity limit, and the ‘take-out only’ limit will not support these local businesses much longer.
Two sixty-second spots have been created by local restaurant owners and can be viewed as a PSA on local television and their Facebook page: Re-Open Restaurants. Elected officials, business owners and business associations who support this position are:
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Mayor Nadine Woodward-Spokane
Mayor Ben Wick-Spokane Valley
Mayor Cris Kaminskas-Liberty Lake
Mayor Sonny Weathers-Airway Heights
Mayor Shirly Maike-Medical Lake
Mayor KayDee Gilkey-Fairfield
Mayor Kevin Freeman-Millwood
Mayor Glenn Johnson-Pullman
Art Swannack, Whitman County Commissioner District 1
Tom Handy, Whitman County Commissioner District 2
Michael Largent, Whitman County Commissioner District 3
Josh Kerns, Spokane County Commissioner Chair, District 1
Al French, Spokane County Commissioner District 3
State Representative Michelle Caldier
State Representative Tom Dent
State Representative Mary Dye
State Representative Jenny Graham
State Representative Drew MacEwen
State Representative Jacquelin Maycumber
State Representative Bob McCaslin
State Representative Joe Schmick
State Representative Joel Kretz
State Representative Mike Volz
State Representative Alex Ybarra
State Representative Rob Chase
State Senator Mike Padden
State Senator Mark Schoesler
State Senator Shelly Short
State Senator Jeff Holy
Michael Cathcart, Spokane City Council Member, District 1
Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce
Visit Spokane
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Below are Restaurant Owners who have volunteered to be interviewed by the Media
Derek Baziotis: Spokane Chair of Washington Hospitality Association and owner of Bene’s: 509-979-6079
Chris Siemens: Mustard Seed & Noodle Express: 509-879-7822
Reema Shaver: Bistango: 509-994-4559
Ken Belisle: The Onion: 509-220-0201
Mark Starr: David’s Pizza: 509-939-1800