It s been a difficult year for restaurants, whose operators have navigated ever-changing shutdowns and restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, and whose employees have risked being infected when going back to work.
Financially, the restaurant industry has taken a huge hit. By end of March alone, one in 50 restaurants permanently closed, according to the National Restaurant Association. That trend continued throughout the year.
Newly released federal data reveals that more than 50,000 companies in Texas received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or more, including many restaurants in the Greater Houston area.
The big chains received the most money. Pappas Restaurants and Perry s Restaurants each received $10 million. Perry s collected additional loans for its locations in Alabama, Colorado, Florida and Illinois, for an additional $3.26 million.