The Latino Restaurant Association Statement on LA County new in-person dining restaurant closures orders.

The recent surge in cases of COVID-19 has shown us all that the virus is still with us and coming back with a vengeance. The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) is foremost, devoted to the overall health of all members of our community. We continue to support and encourage our members in abiding with current Public Health ordinances and recommendations.

The LRA opposes the newly revised Los Angeles County Public Health Order to ban in-person dining. No information has been provided tracing the recent COVID-19 spike to outdoor, in-person dining. The new measure seems punitive for those who have done everything in their power to oblige all the preventative and safety measures currently in place. Latino restaurants and other businesses throughout the county have invested thousands of dollars to ensure safety for their employees and customers.

The measures that will be enacted on Wednesday, November 25 thru mid-December by the Department of Public Health (DPH) will further devastate local Latino restaurant businesses and their employees who have been unfairly bearing the brunt of this pandemic. The in-person dining ban will cause the loss of many jobs and businesses within the Los Angeles Latino restaurant community. Without alternative relief efforts from local and state government along with the current recommendations, we will see restaurants all across Los Angeles closing permanently at the end of 2020.

Our position reflects the overwhelming number of phone calls and emails we have received in the last couple of days from our members. “Restaurant owners have been telling us that relying on take out and delivery-only will mean cutting staff as much as 90 percent,” said Lilly Rocha, LRA Board Chair, “It will be devastating for a lot of families right before the holidays.”

We will work with DPH to continue to create awareness and educate our restaurant members on ways to which abide by the measures. And we pledge to continue to advocate on behalf of our members and the Latino restaurant community with local and state health officials to provide the needed increased governmental help and intervention at this time.