CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s restaurants and bars were forced to close dine-in services on Tuesday as part of a North Carolina mandate aimed at containing the novel coronavirus. For some, that meant closing indefinitely. Others are testing to-go, curbside pick-up and delivery options to keep employees on the payroll — still with substantial job cuts.
Restaurant and food service nationally accounted for nearly 482,000 jobs in 2019, or 11% of the workforce, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Jamie Brown and husband Jeff Tonidandel spent the last decade building a restaurant portfolio that includes Haberdish, Growlers Pourhouse, Crepe Cellar and Reigning Donuts in NoDa. A fifth concept, called Supperland, is under construction in Plaza Midwood.
Last week, the couple had to let 85 employees go, or almost 90% of their workforce.
“We can’t support our labor costs. We know that. The ship will go down,” Jamie Brown says.
CBJ talked with several prominent restaurateurs about their struggle during this time. here
Read that full story here.
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