‘Dreams are shattered’: Miami banquet hall owners plead for help from Mayor Gimenez
Restaurants, nightclubs and gyms aren’t the only businesses hurting in the coronavirus pandemic.
Banquet halls were forced to shut down again after Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an emergency order last week due to a spike in local cases.
On June 8, banquet halls had been allowed to reopen but with strict guidelines, including limited capacity, social distancing and no bar. A month later, they were shuttered again.
“This is the business most affected,” said a banquet hall owner who spoke to the Miami Herald on condition of anonymity. “We’re not a necessity. I would say we’re more of a luxury. If we don’t get help, we’ll all close.”
In an average year, a typical reception hall, depending on capacity, could do an average of 170 and 180 events, from quinceañeras and birthdays to weddings and baby showers.
The tipster told the Miami Herald about $40,000 a month personally had been lost in revenue since the shutdown.
Many party planners don’t see when or if they can reopen anytime soon. So a group got together to write a letter to Gimenez, pleading for help.
In the letter, obtained by the Miami Herald, banquet hall owners say they are the industry “most impacted” due to the pandemic. They also voice concerns about facing even more cancellations and lack of sales down the road.
“As you may imagine, we are struggling to stay afloat. We are struggling to pay high leases and other expenses.... Our funds are fast depleting and is terrifying,” the letter reads.
If they don’t get financial assistance or at least a break from landlords, many fear the local, normally bustling industry is doomed.
“We are asking for help or let us open our doors. We are small business owners and without government help or being able to provide our services, WE WILL NOT SURVIVE. We have families to support. We have employees that need to work to support their families. You cannot make a decision without thinking of consequences to others.”
Gimenez has said his decision to close restaurants and other indoor similar event spaces came in part because people must take off their masks to eat and drink, creating a more risky atmosphere.
The letter concludes with a final plea and emphasized the disastrous situation they face with a lot of unhappy customers on their hands.
“Your decision of closing our doors also has impacted our clients. Their much anticipated event were postponed or canceled. Dreams are shattered. And with canceled events, we find ourselves with irate clients demanding their money back, being threatened with retaliation if they are not refunded despite a signed contract and/or getting chargebacks.”
Deputy Mayor/Budget Director Jennifer Moon told the Miami Herald that the wheels were in motion.
“We are working on several options for business assistance,” she said.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
