C V Hospitality Unites - keep restaurants alive

Restaurants are one of the hardest hit industries in the country by the mandated COVID closures. 

Opening and then closing, loosing our very perishable inventory with zero insurance coverage, investing our last savings or borrowing to build safe outdoor safe spaces as recommended by the CDC and then the State not allowing us to use them while they state that they are simply closing us to 'keep people home' has put 85% of independent restaurants at risk.    6 Million industry employees have lost their jobs for 3 months or more.

We have an opportunity to join the fight with other restaurants in Southern California and have Mark Garegos represent us but we need your help.

We are pursuing legal direction because different industries and different parts of the state and country are being treated differently.  Under the Constitution, we are afforded equal protection.  The hospitality industry cannot solve this problem alone.

The CDC, contact tracing and all available science indicates that outdoor dining is not a significant source of spread.  The disease is primarily contracted through personal, intimate gatherings, and high volume/low caution industries like grocery.  This was even confirmed by Dr. Ghaly, who indicated closing restaurants was not necessary because they are spreaders, but because they encourage people to leave their homes.  Singling out our industry is not acceptable.  If outdoor dining was really the problem, why are the numbers continuing to increase weeks after we were closed?

Restaurant safety protocols were fantastic, and actually helped slow the disease by spreading out the people into safely distanced businesses that enforced mask wearing and sanitization.  By ending outdoor dining, more people are gathering indoors, in large groups, and not wearing masks.  It has also caused groceries to be packed, where protocols are not adequately followed.  Increased home gatherings is evidenced by large single takeout orders and large grocery purchases.

Stay at home orders are not working as travel is still happening, many industries are open and drawing people out, and compliance is inconsistent. Additionally, casinos are open for even indoor dining, and while they are not subject to our laws, we need to consider the reality of the situation when leveling extreme and ineffective measures against our own residents.

Hospitality is one of the largest employers in our region.  Every worker out of a job represents a family, a mortgage, a car payment and healthcare benefits.  Additionally, if countless businesses are forced to close, the result will be empty storefronts, shuttered airline travel to our valley, depressed real estate values, increased drug and alcohol abuse, depression, domestic abuse and food insecurity.  

Please help us open outdoor dining safely in order to stop the devastation.  
Together we can save lives AND livelihoods.
 They do not have to be mutually exclusive!

Thank you for helping us save our restaurants.

We have created a corporation called Coachella Valley Hospitality Unites and are depositing the monies into Mark and Elizabeth Ostoich's account.  Mr Ostoich is overseeing the fundraiser withdrawals  and writing checks directly to Geragos and Geragos as needed.  Elizabeth Ostoich is Secretary of CVHU.  Monies will be spent on legal fees with a current payment of $50,000 being required as a retainer.