Over the weekend an advisory committee has been working to come up with recommendations, to help Ohio's shuttered restaurants.

During this pandemic restaurants in the state have lost 20 to 90% of their business. Half of the restaurants have had to temporarily close their doors.

The ordered closings of restaurants across Ohio, or to remain open for take out only to help protect lives, has had a ripple effect on livelihoods. Owners, servers, the food supply and distribution chain all effected.

The CEO and President of the Ohio Restaurant Association said, John Barker said, "We have over 300,000 in the industry who have filed for unemployment, so just think of that impact. None of those people are really paying taxes, because they're probably getting barely enough to go to the grocery store or pay the rent. We have recommendations regarding face coverings, capacity or seating to maintain social distance, heightened hygiene standards, and employee health monitoring."

They are hoping Governor Mike DeWine will give the green light for restaurants to open again by May 15, 2020. Barker added, "This would give our restaurants enough time to plan out, get people back on the payroll and get rehired, perhaps even retrained. It has been eight weeks since the order to shut down dining."

The Ohio Restaurant Association tells 21 news the Small Business Association or SBA Paycheck Protection Program was a great idea, but it needs some changes to help restaurants and small businesses.

Barker emphasized, "The applications were very complicated, so if your not a financier the odds are stacked against you. Many bigger business owners that had long term relationships with banks, and lending institutions got in the front of the line. In addition to the SPA Paycheck Program is unavailable to restaurants that had to close doors. Only about 57% of the restaurants and small businesses that applied in Ohio received federal help. We have really lobbied hard with the Treasury Department, White House, SBA, and members of Congress to make some technical fixes to that because if there are not fixes to it, the program will not help the restaurant industry and several other industries that include small businesses."