There are approximately 13,000 restaurants in Wisconsin. By the time the current “Safer-at-Home” executive order ends in response to the deadly coronavirus pandemic, half of them could permanently close.
That’s the estimation from Christine Hillmer of the Wisconsin Restaurant Asssociation.
“This is devastating,” Hillmer told WTMJ’s Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Friday. She said her association, and numerous others in the state, were given no warning about Gov. Evers’ move to extend the current order to May 26.
“That is our early estimate right now. We are really feeling that based on the conversations we’re having with our members.”
She says the reasons for such potential devastation of the restaurant industry are multi-fold, and at least partially driven by the low margins in the industry.
“Restaurants don’t have reserve. They don’t really have a lot to bolster up finances,” she explained, with those low margins leading to little profit taking by restaurant owners.
Then comes the fact that demand will be dramatically lessened, partially because people are much less willing to order takeout instead of dining in.
“You’re still doing 50 to 75 percent less in sales than you normally would,” she said.
But additionally, there is the fact that fewer people are making the money they used to, due to job losses, furloughs and salary reductions.
“People are going to have less and less disposable income.”