Restaurant workers frustrated after losing their jobs to St. Louis County indoor dining ban
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO (KMOV) — Thousands of St. Louis County restaurant employees are out of work this holiday season as their employers struggle to stay afloat amid the county’s indoor dining ban.
The ban, which was put into place in mid-November, allows restaurants to conduct carryout and to-go orders, but does not allow for customers to dine inside. With the weather getting colder, some outdoor tents are even proving too chilly.
When St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page announced the dining restrictions last month, David Goetz and Matt Kern found themselves unemployed.
“I have my mom to fall back on, she’s able to help with some of the bills, but right now, I don’t know,” said Goetz. “I don’t know where to turn.”
Goetz has four children, one of whom was also laid off from his restaurant industry job as a result of the indoor ban.
“It’s difficult to provide support when you don’t have the means necessary,” Goetz said.
After the first shut down in March, Goetz said he filed for unemployment for the first time in his life. Now, with federal unemployment benefits gone, he’s frustrated with the entire situation.
“I’ve always had one, two or three jobs to fall back on within the industry and this year I had four, and now none of them are employable,” he said. “I guess I could go work for Amazon or UPS, they seem to be hiring.”
Equally as frustrated is fellow server Matt Kern.
“Politicians, city managers, county executives that are shutting things down all throughout the country haven’t lost a dime,” Kern said. “Not a single paycheck. Their lives have no changed.”
Kern said he’s one of the lucky ones because his wife is able to work from home and bring in an income. Still, he worries for those who live paycheck to paycheck with little money saved.
“What about things like rent and mortgages, things like that that can’t get paid?” he said. “Sam Page is just arbitrarily shutting us down because he can.”
With Christmas right around the corner and bills continuing to pile up, Goetz said he’s not sure what the future holds.
“It’s really frustrating,” he said. “I feel like the employees in this industry have been left behind and not thought about.”
Page said the ban will be re-evaluated after the holidays. On Monday, while he noted cases of COVID-19 in the region are beginning to plateau, he said there is still enough evidence of community spread to restrict indoor dining.
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