Caterer Stewart Glass of Catering By Michaels is only doing 10% of the business he does historically this year.
“The only thing that helped us is when we got the PPP and we had some cash...in the bank,” Glass said. “And we basically, we're actually going to close probably January and February to try to extend our cash far enough to get us maybe to April or May. And if it doesn't shape up by then, you know, I don't...want to say what could happen.”
While attention has been paid to the 25,000 restaurant-strong Illinois Restaurant Association, and the number of restaurants rising up against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, caterers, who also belong to the IRA, have mostly been left out the discussion.
150 Catering By Michaels employees have been furloughed.
“I mean, OK, we're covered under Illinois Restaurant Association...it's like, you know, about the Illinois Restaurant Association going to bat for the restaurants, but we’re as much a member of the Illinois Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association as every restaurant is. And we're getting hurt more.”
Glass said his business is at an all-time low.
Glass said the business had to furlough 150 employees because of the lockdowns and executive orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(We’re) one of the top five or six caterers in the city of Chicago,” Glass said.
He said they can’t afford to defy Pritzker’s orders and run the risk of losing their licenses.
Glass said that the effect trickles down and hurts their supply chain.
“Like I said...we've got some big-name customers and we can't afford to put our name in the papers,” Glass said. “And, you know, all of our ... delivery businesses … and all of our corporate business (is) pretty much down the tubes.”
Glass said right now there isn’t anything out there catering-wise to do.
“Well, you know, a hit here and there, but, you know, your expenses,” Glass said. “I mean, they have a 20,000 square foot facility plus the banquet hall that we have up in Libertyville, that is, we run as a licensee to the Lake County Forest Preserves. So...we can't not abide by the law because our license to run the facility would get taken away because they're a government contract.”
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