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U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell and Omar Etemadi, owner of Oasis Wine Lounge in Pleasanton, joined Rep. Earl Blumenauer and restaurateurs from Fremont and Portland on Tuesday in offering a local perspective on federal legislation that would seek to bolster the country's independent restaurants, as they continue to struggle with upheaval brought on by the pandemic.
Funds allotted to restaurants and other businesses focused on food and drinks under the American Rescue Plan Act last year, amounting to $28.6 billion, were quickly eaten up by an industry that has been struggling, and only about one third of applicants were able to receive grants. Blumenauer, alongside Swalwell and other supporters, are proposing legislation that would replenish this portion of the fund in order to cover existing applications.
Swalwell (D-Livermore) cited his own experience working in restaurants throughout his childhood and early career, and his continued appreciation of local restaurants, particularly given current challenges, as some reasons for his support of the legislation.
"The restaurant critic Phil Rosenthal I think said it best … a good restaurant is like a vacation. It transports you and becomes more than just food," Swalwell said during a media call on Tuesday.
Etemadi said that the $200,000 grant he'd received from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund had been crucial to staying afloat during challenges faced by the pandemic, but emphasized that more aid was needed, with examples from his own business.
Most notably, the $200,000 wasn't enough to save both Oasis locations, with Etemadi saying he was forced to sell one location. The move had impacts on Etemadi and the business as well as employees, as he was forced to drastically cut hours, and many of them were forced to take other jobs as a result.
"I think we should get more funds, because the $200,000 just went out our door in less than three months, because I was behind on rent in both places," Etemadi said.
"I couldn't pay my rent on time, so I paid after, but the $200,000 was not even enough with that many steps ahead, and I had to let go of a lot of my people," he continued.
Questions from many national media outlets during the call centered around Blumenauer's support of the revitalization of funds for restaurants along with his support of a national minimum wage increase, asking him to explain how these two measures were compatible.
Blumenauer called this conversation "something that could be a distraction," with Swalwell noting that a high minimum wage locally is not what has hurt businesses such as Etemadi's, but rapidly changing pandemic guidelines and insufficient emergency grants.
"These restaurants, they will do whatever we ask because they're resilient, but the worst thing we can do to them is just completely shut them down indoors and outdoors, or to just not invest in them," Swalwell said.
