The restaurant industry finds an unlikely hero in Guy Fieri, but will it be enough?

This appeared in The Millennial Source

A study conducted by One Fair Wage found that 66% of service industry workers who answered their survey reported that their tips have declined by 50%. Two-thirds of workers said they received lower tips after they enforced coronavirus protocols.

Before the pandemic locked most Americans indoors for several months, the bar and restaurant industry employed 15.1 million workers, about 10% of America’s workforce. The pandemic showed Americans just how vulnerable the service economy is and throughout the months of lockdowns, restrictions and closures, many workers in restaurants have struggled to make ends meet.

Financial issues due to lockdown

Government-imposed lockdowns caused intense pressure on the restaurant industry starting in March. Restaurants did what they could to adapt, opening for deliveries and take out, but the industry was still hit hard. Even with looser restrictions like outdoor seating and limited-capacity indoor dining for the last few months, Yelp reported 26,160 restaurant closures, with 15,770 of them permanently closing.

In a letter written to Congress by the National Restaurant Association, their nationwide survey found…