Main Street Pizza Company is one of about 1,160 businesses in Tennessee that benefited from a $28.6 billion federal program called the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
The company, which received roughly $1.4 million, is still operating at a loss, but owner Jamie Dove feels better knowing his business now has a stronger safety net. The funding Main Street Pizza Company secured represents almost a yearâs worth of payroll for the business, he said.
âItâs just game-changing,â said Dove, who was in a priority group for funding because he is a veteran. âItâs the difference between us really having been set back like a decade . or basically almost being back to even.â
KINGSPORT â Just about everywhere you go, youâre likely to see two words: âNow Hiring.â
Pilot Co. recently sought to fill more than 5,000 positions. Food City looked to fill 2,000 jobs. Interviews are being held online and in person. No appointment has been needed. Employers are welcoming walkups.
Steve LaHair, owner of Chefâs Pizzeria, said that in his 36-year career he has never experienced such a difficult time in hiring.
âItâs not even just hiring,â LaHair said. âPeople are not coming in to put in an application. Itâs not just our area. Restaurants and the service industry really where our expected growth is are having the same problems.â
Businesses selling liquor onsite had until Dec. 31 to pay their annual privilege tax to Johnson City, a fee that for restaurants can be in the range of $600 to $1,000 depending on their seating capacity.
But one local restaurant owner is questioning whether itâs fair to charge those fees during a year in which public health officials have encouraged restaurants to cut their maximum capacity to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
âIt just feels like a bureaucratic entanglement,â said Nathan Brand, one of the co-owners of Timber on West Walnut Street.
According to city codes, restaurants with a seating capacity of 75 to 125 seats must pay $600 annually, which increases depending on the number of seats. At max, businesses with 276 seats or more pay $1,000.