The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber is hoping March will be declared Restaurant Month. Director Arthur Havlicek says March last year was declared Restaurant month to draw attention to the struggles faced by restaurants due to COVID-19 shutdowns. However, he says they’re still hurting.
“The Omicron variant has increased consumer hesitancy over recent weeks, and it’s also exacerbated existing staffing shortages,” Havlicek said. “Our labor force participation rate nationwide, also in Michigan and also in Berrien County, has been at a historic 40 year low for quite some time now.”
Havlicek says all of that is on top of inflation causing costs for restaurants to jump and supply chain problems. He says everyone should take a bit of their business to a restaurant near them to help the industry out. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners next week is expected to approve a resolution declaring March Restaurant Month. It will call on Congress to reinstate the Restaurant Revitalization Fund that helped restaurants last year.
