HOUSTON, Texas — Friday was beautiful for lunch along the East End Esplanade. But many say business has been anything but beautiful.
"We’re trying to make our businesses viable,” said one restaurant owner during a small rally Friday afternoon.
They called on the community to help them survive during the coronavirus pandemic, and said that every day brings possible closure, even with increasing “to-go” options and government assistance.
"This is the first week we’ve been open all week,” said Dona Maria restaurant owner Juan Hernandez.
"And I know it’s not exclusive to the East End, it’s all over Houston,” said concerned customer Sonya Rivera.
A newly released study by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found that 90 percent of respondents to a statewide restaurant survey said sales were down.
"We also found that 41 percent of restaurant owners stated they had closed, temporarily, at least one location," said professor Pablo Pinto. "And 19 percent of respondents said that had closed down permanently, at least one location.”
Pinto and his team surveyed some 1400 restaurants in all, 80 percent of which have been forced to lay off employees.
"Most of them said it would take them at least six months to start recovering," said Pinto. "A big chunk of them said it would take 18 months to be back in recovery.”
And that’s only after things fully re-open, which some may not be able to wait much longer to do.
"Just like everybody else, we’re struggling,” said a restaurant owner.
Great news if you watch TV with an antenna
KHOU has just upgraded its technology. If you were unable to receive KHOU with your antenna in the past, try again on channel 11.11. You may have to rescan your channels for it to work – if that’s the case, we’ve got some instructions at KHOU.com/antenna. If you already see KHOU on 11.1, you may now ALSO see it on 11.11 – it’s the exact same programming. We’re really excited to be able to bring our KHOU 11 News, CBS shows and sports, Wheel of Fortune, Ellen and Great Day Houston to more homes around the area. If you’re still having trouble, please contact us here and we’ll try to get you set up.