INDIANAPOLIS — There hasn't been a lunch rush at the Tavern On South for almost a year.
Business at the downtown Indy restaurant and bar is a fraction of what it was before the pandemic.
Three-fourths of the staff is laid off. Like many other restaurants, government and business loans are keeping it open.
"We are still taking it on the chin," said Patrick Tamm, president and CEO Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association.
Tamm and other restaurant owners met with Indiana Senator Mike Braun Wednesday. Much of the discussion centered on the proposed unified RESTAURANTS Act. It promises $25 billion of federal help, but Braun wants something less expensive and more targeted.
"What we are seeing come from the House is anything but that," Braun said. "It has a lot of other stuff in it."
Much is at stake for restaurant workers. Nine out of 10 Indiana restaurants have lost at least one-third of their business, and according the association, have laid off Hoosier 215,000 workers. Nationwide, more than 2,000,000 jobs have been lost.