Faidley Seafood advocates restaurant relief in Washington

BALTIMORE, Md. (AP) — More than 100 years after her great-grandfather first opened his seafood stall in Baltimore’s Lexington Market, Faidley Seafood owner Damye Hahn and her son, Will, drove to Washington to help ensure the family business lasts for generations more.

Hahn spoke at a news conference Wednesday sponsored by the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an advocacy group that is urging Congress to replenish the federal government’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, designed to help businesses that have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many restaurants like Hahn’s were denied relief during the initial round of funding, which provided over 100,000 grants but had more than twice as many applicants.

“There’s 177,000 people that were left out, we’ve got to replenish the whole program,” she said.

The event at Tortilla Coast, blocks away from the U.S. Capitol and a regular haunt for lawmakers and staff, according to the restaurant’s owner, included two congressmen who are working on legislation to provide an additional $60 billion to restore the fund.

“The neighborhood restaurant is a quintessential building block of livable communities,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat and sponsor of the Restaurant Revitalization Replenishment Act. “Restaurateurs already have enough debt, they don’t need more debt, they needed cash to be able to weather this storm.”

Restaurant owners have criticized the U.S. Small Business Administration’s initial rollout of the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund as unfairly selecting winners and losers in the economy. Those who received funding in the first round of grant distribution — including large companies such as The Greene Turtle, Phillip’s Seafood and various Atlas Restaurant Group eateries...