Many Iowa restaurants are wondering how they’ll be able to start paying off federal loans that were made available at the start of the pandemic. Payments on Economic Injury Disaster Loans were deferred for more than two years. Iowa Restaurant Association CEO Jessica Dunker says spending patterns have changed and it’s a struggle for some restaurants to start making those monthly payments.
Dunker says for most restaurants, profits are razor thin.
And she says that could result in more closures.
By the end of last year, about 800 restaurants that were open at the beginning of the pandemic had closed. And Dunker warns there will be more to add to that list when the tally is done for 2023.
