The Arizona Restaurant Association is pleased to partner with The Arizona 100 to present this issue.
In 2019 our industry generated $13.4 billion in Arizona alone. In January 2020, we employed approximately 230,000 residents statewide. Amid COVID-19, 70% to 80% of these workers were laid off. Prior to COVID-19, our daily payroll was nearly $14 million a day. Over the summer, that number fell to $3 million a day.
This is a precarious time. There is no playbook when it comes to dealing with something like COVID-19. We have to work together and support each other now more than ever.
– Steve Churci, Arizona Restaurant Association