Recap & Update From Industry-Wide Briefing Call with Regional Leaders

Dear Operators,

We hosted an industry-wide call this morning with regional leaders and we understand there were some technical difficulties. We had hundreds of people on the call, but as other businesses and organizations are needing to do everything by conference call, the platform was overloaded. We apologize for any inconvenience.

We are synthesizing the information from the call to share on our website including FAQs and resources shared on that call. This will be available later today on our blog where we are posting all real-time updates and resources. Please share with anyone in the industry who is seeking resources.

For those who were not able to call-in, we were joined this morning by the following leaders, all of whom shared incredibly valuable information and resources that will be on our blog:

• John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Executive Office of the Mayor - john.falcicchio@dc.gov
• Victor Hoskins, President and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority  - vhoskins@fceda.org
• Mike Whatley, Vice President of State and Local Affairs, National Restaurant Association - mwhatley@restaurant.org

While more detailed information will be shared shortly, here are some synthesized highlights from the speakers' presentations:

Mike Whatley (National Restaurant Association) - mwhatley@restaurant.org
On National Efforts: They are working with the Federal Government on an emergency economic stimulus package worth 1 trillion dollars to include small business and employee support and relief efforts.

• The focus is on three key aspects/phases: Immediate access to cash, medium/long-term access to credit, and tax relief. They are basing recommendations to Congress on economics and the reality that our industry is uniquely challenged by virtue of our lean finances, reduced traffic due to customer fears, and the unprecedented state and local mandates curtailing our industry.
• The National Restaurant Association team will be sending out an action alert this afternoon or tomorrow morning encouraging restaurants to take action and email their members of Congress. They will need engagement from everyone in and related to the restaurant industry when this action alert comes out. Please be prepared to sign on and share through your social media platforms. RAMW will send this to operators.

John Falcicchio (Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Executive Office of the Mayor) - john.falcicchio@dc.gov

• The Deputy Mayor’s office is urging businesses to tell employees to file for Unemployment Insurance through DOES online and not by phone. If your employees do not have access to a computer, we encourage you to provide one for them at your restaurant, so they can register online.
  • Please tell your employees to file by clicking here.
  • To learn more about the UI process click here.
  • For details on UI, eligibility, and registration see our blog post here.
• Mayor Bowser announced today that DC businesses impacted by Coronavirus can now apply for Federal relief funds through SBA Disaster Assistance. Click here to apply.  Read release here.
• SBA Federal Disaster loans will be housed with DSLBD and there will be resources and guidance from DSLBD, which we will share, to guide people through that process. 
• RAMW will also join other business organizations on a call with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to glean insights and to be more helpful to you on this process, timeline, and what to expect.
• Local relief packages in the form of business grants for Washington, DC will be much more clear in the coming days. Deputy Mayor Falcicchio shared that local grants will be managed through the Deputy Mayor's Office (DMPED), which is really great news given the hourly updates that RAMW is having with DMPED.

Victor Hoskins (President and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA)) - vhoskins@fceda.org

• As he is working with all counties across Northern Virginia, FCEDA will be a valuable resource for VA businesses navigating relief, guidance, and mandates that are happening.
• FCEDA will also be able to help navigate the SBA application process for VA. Visit https://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/
• Unemployment funding will be available due to the declaration of emergency. Virginia is waiving the one-week waiting period.
• For details on UI, eligibility, and VA registration see our blog post here.

Ongoing Updates:

• Additional information gleaned on today's call will be posted on our blog where we are sharing all updates. 
• FAQs from the Q&A will also be shared.

PLEASE TAKE THIS CRITICAL SURVEY:
We need you to answer a few quick questions so we can give regional leaders real-time updates on what our industry is experiencing today. This is a NEW survey and we ask you to fill this out even if you took the previous survey. We are in constant need of updated data we can provide as we work to get relief for businesses and workers.