Our Mission
The Alliance was formed in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic when it became clear that independently owned restaurants and bars needed assistance in determining how to safely operate and recover from the economic fallout of this crisis. Eleven percent of Oregon’s workforce depends on income from restaurants and bars — their lives are currently in peril. Our mission is simple — we are fully committed to working together to find the solutions to the challenges our industry faces, together.
These small businesses cannot fail.
Job losses in the restaurant industry account for more than a quarter of the increase to the US unemployment figures since February, figures that have not been seen since the Great Depression.
Who We are Fighting For
Restaurants & Bar Ownership
More than 9 in 10 restaurants have fewer than 50 employees.
More than 7 in 10 restaurants are single-unit operations.
Female restaurateurs own or co-own nearly half of all restaurant businesses. Thirty- three percent of restaurant businesses are majority-owned by women and fifteen percent are equally owned by women and men.
Minorities own one-third of all restaurants.
The number of African American- and Hispanic-owned restaurants increased by 49% and 51% respectively between 2007 and 2012. Moreover, immigrant restaurateurs currently make up 38% of restaurant owners.
Who Works in Restaurants & Bars
1 in 3 Americans got their first job experience in a restaurant.
Restaurants employ more women and BIPOC managers than any other industry.
The restaurant industry employs over one million single mothers.
Nearly 6 in 10 adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point during their lives.
The lion’s share of restaurant workers are the country’s youngest employees—nearly 40% are between the age of 16 and 24. In fact, 1 in 3 employed teens work in the restaurant industry.
Restaurants not only provide individuals joining the workforce for the first time with invaluable job experience, they help young workers gain financial independence and, in many circumstances, save and pay for college or help support their families.
Restaurants also play an important role in the community by employing many individuals returning from institutions or incarceration. Some returning citizens commit to the industry so wholly that they build up to a career as a chef and/or eventually own their own restaurants.
Help us win this fight for survival