We Have to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Right. Now.
Chef Christopher Zahn was not able to receive money from the RRF. We asked what that grant would mean for him, his family, and his business:
“I still believe most people do not understand that the effects of the pandemic are still really hurting restaurants and that being open is not the same as being open before restrictions hit restaurants, especially in downtown Boise. We were looking for a lifeline to help us survive the summer months which have been extremely slowed due to the lack of businesspeople going into the office or companies that have still not come back. Another set back is that our landlord did not give us a break on our lease payments only a delay until July 1st, 2021, to repay the last 6 months rent on the space or roughly $24,600.
Our restaurant and event space are on the 9th floor of an office building which saw plenty of COVID cases over the past 13 months. Every time a case was announced the building would shut down and we would go without customers. We also lost 95% of our venues event for 2020 or 245 events. Although the restrictions have been lifted over 60% of our building and one of our largest customer have not come back into the offices. That office, located a floor below us, has no timetable for a return. We have lost our staff to a local corporation who can pay much more and are now not requiring references, or the skill levels needed to fill job openings.
Without our customer base in place due to circumstances outside of our hands we looked to the RRF for help. Our building also provided us with this information in hopes we could pay our back rent owed. We filled out all the paperwork and submitted our request. We received an email stating we qualified for $75,000 and would be notified when the money was sent. Fast forward to June 30th and I receive an email stating that all of the funds have been depleted and we would have to look elsewhere. Per the recent findings by the National Restaurant New group 100,004 food organization received $28.6 Billion dollars in funding, some of which included Walt Disney World restaurants and Apple Computers corporate catering company.
We have until September 1st to pay our past due balance, or we will be closing October 1st because our landlord needs us paid in full. This will cost us our livelihood, investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars we have personally put into our space, and the future weddings of the 46 brides we have spaces reserved for in the next 2 years. We are asking for help as corporations locally and nationally are trying to keep us from staying alive!”
Chef Christopher Zahn
Zee Christopher LLC
