Last Updated: January 17, 2021
The Georgia Restaurant Association is committed to providing our members with resources and opportunities to help manage elements within our control. We are your voice and stand together with you in these challenging times. We have created this page to serve as your comprehensive guide to stay up to date on the latest coronavirus information and find resources to protect your business. This page will continue to be updated as more information is made available by the CDC, other health organizations, and our lawmakers.
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Reopening
On April 27, 2020, Governor Abbott issued an Executive Order that allowed restaurants to reopen their dining spaces with limited capacity beginning on May 1, 2020. He also issued statewide protocols that reopening restaurants must follow. These statewide protocols are encompassed by the “Texas Restaurant Promise”—the product of weeks of collaboration between the Texas Restaurant Association, restaurants of all sizes, and health officials across the nation to develop guidelines that would enable restaurants to safely reopen their dining spaces during the COVID-19 recovery.
- MarshWortham Playbook for Reopening Restaurants
- EPA: Improving air ventilation and HVAC systems: Venitlation & COVID-19, Air Cleaners & HVAC Filters
- FDA: Best Practices for Reopening Retail Food Establishments
- Think Food Group's Reopening Playbook
OSHA Guidance:
- Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
ECOLAB Reopening Resources:
The Georgia Promise
Read the Georgia Promise, find the FAQs we’ve put together to guide restaurants as they reopen, and see related resources here.
HR & Employment
- What to do if one of your employees tests positive for COVID-19 - A step-by-step checklist with detailed information from the CDC and state.
- JacksonLewis: Families First Coronavirus Response Act - A Disability, Leave & Health Management blog offering practical legal guidance to employers.
- IRS: COVID-19-Related Tax Credits: Basic FAQs
- Department of Labor: Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers
- Department of Labor: Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights
Relief & Aid
- PPP Round 2 Restaurant Summary Guide | Read about the details pertinent to the industry included in the $900 billion relief package passed by Congress on December 20, 2020.
- Main Street Lending Program - Updated to better target support to smaller businesses
- SBA Disaster Recovery Assistance (recorded webinar) - TRA and SBA recorded webinar on disaster recovery assistance
- SBA to Provide Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses Impacted - Federal Disaster Loans for Businesses, Private Nonprofits, Homeowners, and Renters
- Southern Smoke’s Hospitality Emergency Relief - Provides funding to individuals in the food and beverage industry who are in crisis
- CORE – Children of Restaurant Employees - Provides support to food and beverage service employees, with children, who have been medically diagnosed with COVID-19. You may also be eligible if a family member is diagnosed.
- James Beard Relief Fund - Currently raising money to provide micro-grants to independent food and beverage businesses in need.
- Talk to Your Landlord About COVID-19 - Guidance on how to start a conversation about what you can and can’t do for your lease.
Regulatory Guidance from the State
Advocacy Updates
- The Texas Restaurant Survival Plan - Our eight point plan directed at the State that combines aid from the CARES Act with the policy reforms we need to save Texas restaurants, bars, and other foodservice businesses. #SaveTXRestaurants
- Paycheck Protection is Killing Restaurants, Source: Wall Street Journal
- How much of my PPP loan will be forgiven? Calculator
- Restaurants and CARES Act with Senator Cornyn (Recorded webinar, 4/1/2020)
- SBA Disaster Recovery Assistance (Recorded webinar, 3/25/2020)
Sanitation Guides
- ECOLAB EPA Approved Cleaning Products
- Center for Biocide Chemistries: Novel Coronavirus-Fighting Products
- ECOLAB: Disinfecting Hard, Non-porous Surfaces
- ECOLAB: Peroxide Multi Surface Disinfectant
Off-Premises Resources
- Curbside and Delivery for Full Service Restaurants (recorded webinar)
- Vinder Launches Restaurant-Fueled Farmers Market
- Kitchen United: Takeout & Delivery Best Practices (Marketing)
- Kitchen United: Takeout and Delivery Best Practices for Getting Started and Setting Up
- Ordering.app, Part of Google, Waiving Service Fees Until July 1
Resources for Employees
- Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation
- United States Bartenders' Guild
- Another Round, Another Rally: Emergency Relief
- James Beard Foundation Relief Fund
- The Lee Initiative: Restaurant Workers Relief Program
- Department of Labor: Employee Rights Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Health & Testing Information
Operations, Legal Contracts and Insurance
- Monty & Ramirez COVID-19 Return to Work Guidance
- COVID-19 Restaurant Temporary Closing Guide (PDF) - A summarized list of considerations for a temporary restaurant close down by A la Carte Foodservice Consulting Group.
- Marsh Risk Consulting: COVID-19 Playbook for Restaurants
- Restaurant Closing Audit Checklist (XLS) - A comprehensive closing checklist created by RK iNNOVATION.
- Skadden: Implications of Coronavirus - A legal article on COVID-19 and its implications for commercial and financial contracts.
- GreenbergTraurig: Coronavirus and Force Majeure Contract Clauses - Legal advice on issues relating to the coronavirus and its effects, such as the invocation and enforceability of force majeure clauses in contracts.
- JacksonLewis Resource - Jackson Lewis provides a comprehensive list of links and important resources to help answer some of the most common questions around COVID-19.
- Temporary Menu Labeling Policy During COVID-19 - This consists of how your menu should be labeled through the COVID-19 crisis.
- SBA Certification Regarding Lobbying Form
- EnergyBot: Energy Resource Guide