Worcester Business Journal

22 Worcester Business Journal | November 9, 2020 | wbjournal.com F A C T B O O K R E S T A U R A N T R E V E N U E R estaurants are bringing in far less money for food and drink during the coronavirus pandemic – and it's showing both the hit the industry has taken this year as well as the financial toll declining tax revenue will have on cities and towns. Across Central Massachusetts, revenue from taxes on restaurant bills plunged 42% in the three months spanning April to June, which covered what was largely the worst of the early phase of the Drop in dining Declining sales at Central Massachusetts restaurants over the last six months have led to business closures, layoffs & a 33% drop in restaurant tax collections for local governments BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor pandemic locally, as well as the tightest government restrictions on business operations. In the six months ending in September, that revenue dropped 33%. Revenue dropped the sharpest in the second quarter of the year – by half or more – in communities including Littleton, Ashland, Natick, Acton and Framingham, according to a Worcester Business Journal analysis of Massachu- setts Department of Revenue data. Even including the six months through Sep- tember, when restaurants were generally able to serve in outdoor spaces and even indoors, revenue remained down by half or more in Hardwick, Groton, Wayland, Bolton, Lunenburg and Littleton. Meals tax revenue isn't an especial- ly large source of funds for cities and towns, but it does help indicate the sudden economic reversal of fortunes for communities. In the six months ending in Septem- ber, Central Massachusetts communities lost more than $25 million in sales tax revenue, according to state data. Much of those funds go to the state, but com- munities oen opt to add 0.75% onto restaurant bills for revenue they're able to keep locally. Pandemic's restaurant casualties Dropping restaurant revenue reflects not only fewer people going out to eat, but also those that have closed. e Massachusetts Restaurant Association estimates almost a quarter of all eateries have closed this year. In Worcester, for example, the restaurants Wexford House, Save Point Tavern, Corner Grill, Blue Shades and Shangri-La have closed permanently. Among two of the city's most renowned, deadhorse hill has retooled its offer- ings with reduced hours and Armsby Abbey has shuttered indefinitely. At the Grid District downtown, four eateries will close for at least the winter: e Worcester Beer Garden, Franklin Street Fare, Revolution Pie + Pint and Cra Table & Bar. By happenstance, a series of Worces- ter establishments closed within a few months before the pandemic hit, including Dive Bar, DaCosta's, 7 Nana, C'Mondz and Wild Willy's. Save Point Tavern, which offered video games, said in a Facebook post it was doing well and could have kept operating if not for the pandemic. "We almost made it to 1 year, but with the COVID and the crazy restric- tions the hospitality industry has been to face, it was all [too] much to bear for such a new unique concept such as ours," the bar said. "We started off strong and by all accounts we were on track for success, until COVID." Among others, e Chateau, Christina's Cafe and Not Your Average Joe's restaurants in Westborough have closed, along with Jube's Family Blue Shades, a cafe on Worcester's Park Avenue, is among at least five restaurants in the city to have closed permanently during the coronavirus pandemic. PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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