Chase Launches $4 Million Fund to Support Restaurants Hit by Natural Disasters
A new lifeline is emerging for struggling operators in partnership with the Independent Restaurant Coalition.
The charred remains of a restaurant occupies a corner of Sunset Boulevard following the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
Photographer: Michael Nigro/BloombergRunning a restaurant can be difficult in the best of times: Long hours, slim profit margins, staffing shortages and fluctuating food prices (not to mention the vicissitudes of taste) make it increasingly tricky. But natural disasters can be an insurmountable challenge to a small business, devastating the community it relies on even if the flood or fire or storm spares the establishment itself.
"Think about what happened in North Carolina last year, where sometimes [restaurants] are closed for a month or two months. Restaurants don't have a safety net," says Bobby Stuckey, founder of the Frasca Hospitality Group and a co-founder of the the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC).