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Local restaurant owners heading to Harrisburg Wednesday to rally for relief

PITTSBURGH — Everyone’s favorite bars and restaurants are struggling to stay open.

It’s a dire situation for many restaurant owners, and some are heading to Harrisburg for a big rally on Wednesday to help save the industry.

It’s a rally to rescue the restaurant industry. Michael Passalacqua, the owner of Angelo’s in Washington County, said the industry will not survive this winter without financial support.

“We are more concerned now about funding relief and a package that will save restaurants,” Passalacqua said. “Hundreds of thousands of employees have been affected, hundreds of restaurants have closed, and now it’s time for the federal government and state government to step up.”

On Wednesday, he’s joining several restaurant owners from all over the state to push legislators for assistance.

The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association is holding the rally, and the association’s former president Glenn Hawley said help is needed even more now.

“There’s a lot of business that had outdoor seating, outdoor patios, and that’s gone now. It’s cold and as they bring it inside with 50% capacity rules and six-foot distances, they may not have the ability to gain that revenue,” Hawley said.

Out of 16% of confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide, 53% of those people told the health department they went to a restaurant. Another 12.5% said they went to a bar.

We asked Hawley about this and he defended the industry.

“We follow all the guidelines — masks, distances, six-foot, don’t stand inside, you can’t sit at the bar; all those rules we follow. I don’t know if the transmission happens simply because we are a common place guests go out to,” Hawley said.

Hawley hopes the holiday season, the best time of year for this industry, prevents more restaurants and bars from going out of business, as another shutdown or more restrictions could be catastrophic.

“I get phone calls from other restaurateurs, and frankly everyone is scared to death of it,” Passalacqua said.

Passalacqua said staying open is important and getting relief is crucial.

“it’s my industry, it’s my life, it’s who we are, it’s who I am and it’s important to be part of the activism,” Passalacqua said.

The rally is Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg. For those who want to attend, you have to register online.