Forget Seattle’s history of fear about a giant earthquake. For Capitol Hill’s restaurant and small business communities, a natural disaster is playing out right in front of you.

“I feel like my heart is about to beat out of my chest right now. I’ve been in the Seattle restaurant industry for almost three decades. So I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen WTO, I’ve seen the dot com crash, I’ve seen 9/11. I’m going to tell you right now that I’ve never seen anything like this,” Tamara Murphy, owner of Capitol Hill restaurant Terra Plata said Wednesday at a gathering of neighborhood business owners to bring attention to the immediate crisis hitting especially hard in the city’s food and drink industries. “This is like a tsunami. This is like a wildfire.”

Murphy said she wasn’t sure what “the last trees standing” would look like.

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The gathering brought together by the GSBA and the Broadway Business Improvement Area was mostly a call for help. There were anecdotes about the rapid downturn in business and shared fears about how long this might drag on. Many agreed that buying gift cards and gift certificates now for your favorite restaurants and shops might be the best way to help them survive through the outbreak. The meeting came after a morning announcement from Gov. Jay Inslee of a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people and an overall call for an increase in “social distancing” as the state tries to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The business owners Wednesday afternoon on Terra Plata’s upstairs garden patio said they supported the leadership of Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and agreed that slowing the outbreak and health should be the paramount concern.

They, too, heard Gov. Inslee say that, for the time being, he didn’t want to see people crowded “shoulder to shoulder” in bars. It is time to hunker down, the governor said.

But the immediate impact of a loss of revenue for small business owners will spark a wave of closures and job losses, the group gathered Wednesday said.

Earlier this week, CHS reported on what neighborhood small businesses were doing to prepare and efforts including a federal COVID-19 emergency program set to come online that will make some $7 billion in low interest loans available to business hit by the virus’s impact.

More locally, City Hall is allowing first and second quarter business taxes to be deferred for businesses with taxable income below $5 million a year. Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light are being directed to provide “flexible payment plans” to commercial and residential customers. The plans also allow customers to avoid any potential utility shut-off. Seattle is also working on waiving the 1% late fee for past due utility bills and will offer a Utility Discount Program.

Meanwhile, Durkan has announced a Small Business Recovery Task Force co-chaired by former Governor Gary Locke and former Council President Bruce Harrell.

But without more immediate help and business, some say they will have to shut down and let go of employees.

For those workers, the safety net — for some, at least — is partly strengthened. Under emergency rules due to the outbreak, Washington workers will be able to receive unemployment benefits if an employer temporarily cuts back or shuts down because of employee illness or quarantine and employers will get relief of benefit charges. Standby — meaning workers do not need to meet job search requirements while they are unemployed — will be available for part-time workers as well as full-time workers — but they must meet a minimum of 680 hours in the past year.

The state has also temporarily reopened the state’s health insurance exchange to allow new sign-ups.

The new rules focus on unemployment claimants involved in situations requiring isolation or quarantine as a result of COVID-19. How the state will respond to the employment issues related to temporary and longterm closures due to the new events and gatherings requirements remains to be seen. A COVID-19 Response Fund has been started with help from Amazon and Microsoft to “help people disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus outbreak’s disruption of the economy” including “people who lack access to health insurance or sick leave, residents with limited English proficiency, communities of color, and health care and gig economy workers.”

UPDATE 3/12/20 2:35 PM: The city will make $1.5 million in grants available to small business being hit by the outbreak’s economic impact:

Building on measures focused on supporting small businesses, Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced a $1.5 million City of Seattle fund to invest directly in small businesses financially impacted by COVID-19. The fund is an expansion of the Office of Economic Development’s (OED) Small Business Stabilization Fund, which the Mayor created to support small businesses whose operations were jeopardized by a destabilizing event.

“Eligible small businesses will receive a grant of up to $10,000 to mitigate revenue lost by COVID-19,” the City Hall announcement reads.

OED will immediately begin accepting applications for the expanded Small Business Stabilization Fund:

Eligible small businesses can apply by filling out a simple one-page form on OED’s website, and the City’s Small Business Liaisons will conduct targeted outreach and technical assistance to ensure historically underserved communities like immigrants and refugees, communities of color, and business owners who speak a language other than English apply. Once an eligible business owner applies, OED will send financial assistance within one week. Applications and grants for the Fund will continue on a rolling basis.

Kristi Brown, who is opening the Communion restaurant in the Central District and operator of a catering business, said she had just come from a meeting where she laid off seven workers.

Brown said shutting down temporarily through the next few weeks is not an option. “Your bills don’t stop,” she said. “The bills don’t stop. Like the fact that we’re in the process of opening up a restaurant, there are construction people on site right now, painting there, I can’t stop them. I still have to pay regardless.”

Christy Brooker-Lillard, owner of the Laughing Buddha tattoo shop at Broadway and Pine, said another reason owners can’t temporarily shutter are the leases — she is on the hook for rent, of course. “Even if my business closes, I have to pay two years of rent on the commercial space on Capitol Hill, which is incredibly high,” she said. “I just want to take care of the people I work with.”

Gregg Holcomb said he is considering taking on high interest rate loans to may payroll. He opened Olmstead on Broadway in the old Broadway Grill spot just before Christmas. It was a terrible time of year to open, Holcomb said Wednesday. “We were hopeful all we had to do is make it until spring,” he said. “Well, spring is here.”

Mayor Durkan was scheduled to be part of the session but was unable to appear.

What comes next across Capitol Hill, a few owners said Wednesday, is more shops limiting their hours and more restaurants eliminating service and moving to pickup and delivery only. After that if business does not pick up could come closures and a massive reset of the area’s food and drink economy.

Another missing component at the Capitol Hill gathering Wednesday were representatives from the large developers and building managers that own much of the neighborhood’s commercial properties. Terra Plata, for example, got a new landlord last year when national shopping center developer Regency Centers bought the Melrose Market development for $15.5 million.

Terra Plata co-owner Linda Di Lello Morton said lease relief could be a major help across Capitol Hill and Seattle. Another option, she said, would be relief on the property tax component of the “triple net” costs — real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance — most Capitol Hill businesses face in addition to their leases.

But, for now, Di Lello Morton said, the best help is more business. In a social-distanced Seattle, there might not be much to do for customers who want to help beyond buying gift certificates and gift cards.

Meanwhile, one of the neighborhood’s most high profile businesses went public with its pleas for help Wednesday. The Stranger has turned to readers to ask for donations to help it survive a rapid downturn in revenue from “advertising, ticketing fees, and our own events.”

“The coronavirus situation has virtually eliminated this income all at once,” The Stranger’s plea reads. “At a time when the city needs local coverage more than ever, we’re asking for your help to support continued coverage of everything happening in Seattle.”

The events crackdown will also hit businesses like Queer/Bar as smaller gatherings and events where effective “social distancing” measures cannot be applied are also banned.

“We are saddened to announce that all shows & activations will be canceled until further notice due to the-COVID-19 pandemic & mandatory government regulations,” a message posted by the 11th Ave venue reads. “We will continue to operate Monday-Sunday with limited hours and capacity, we are committed to providing a safe and healthy space for our community and will continue to do so as long as possible.”

In February, CHS reported on the plans for the media company to leave its longtime home at 11th and Pine for new offices in the International District.

The group of businesses including Queer/Bar, Grim’s, and The Cuff said it has had to make “temporary layoffs family wide.”

UPDATE 3/12/20 2:10 PM: Add E Pike’s Honey Hole to the list of Capitol Hill businesses announcing temporary closures or service changes. The E Pike sandwich shop announced it was closing for two weeks due to the COVID-19 response.

“We are heartbroken and although this will be very hard, we feel it is the right thing to do for our restaurant,” the message posted at the sandwich shop and bar reads. The message also say it is “impossible” to operate a business in light of calls for social distancing. Honey Hole’s ownership also has a message for a new neighbor — Jeff Bezos:

Congratulations on your new store across the street. Your Capitol Hill small business neighbors have held down the hood for year while you left the entire block of retail space void and vacant. Care to return the favor and help your neighbors out in a time of need?

Amazon Go Grocery opened across the street earlier this year after some five years of planning, more planning, and construction.

UPDATE 3/12/20 5:10 PM: Add Broadway’s Altura and its newly opened sibling Carrello to the list:

Both Carrello and Altura will close after service on Saturday, March 14th for at least four to six weeks. During this period, we will continue to evaluate the current business and community environments to determine the appropriate timing for resuming service at both restaurants. While we fully intend to reopen both restaurants, we want to be sure that it is safe for our staff and diners, as well as economically viable to do so.

CHS will continue to track closures and issues related to the COVID-19 response on local businesses here.

Capitol Hill and Central District COVID-19 Closure and Layoff List (updated: 3/13/20)

Restaurants, bars, cafes, etc.

Glo's : Temporary closure "two weeks" -- 3/13/20

: Temporary closure "two weeks" -- 3/13/20 Atulea : Temporary closure -- 3/13/20

: Temporary closure -- 3/13/20 Altura and Carrello: Temporary closure starting Saturday for "four to six weeks" -- 3/12/20

Temporary closure starting Saturday for "four to six weeks" -- 3/12/20 Honey Hole : Temporary closure "two weeks' -- 3/12/20

: Temporary closure "two weeks' -- 3/12/20 Queer/Bar, Grim's, The Cuff : Layoffs and canceled events -- 3/11/20

: Layoffs and canceled events -- 3/11/20 That Brown Girl Cooks : Layoffs -- 3/11/20

: Layoffs -- 3/11/20 The Stranger: Call for donations -- 3/11/20

The arts

Seattle Asian Art Museum: Temporary closure through March -- 3/13/20

Temporary closure through March -- 3/13/20 Seattle Public Library Capitol Hill Branch : Temporary closure through April 13 (starting 3/13 at 6 PM) -- 3/13/20

: Temporary closure through April 13 (starting 3/13 at 6 PM) -- 3/13/20 Frye Art Museum: Temporary closure through March -- 3/12/20

Back at Terra Plata Wednesday, Donna Moodie of E Union’s Marjorie restaurant also sounded the alarm. “To shut your doors to the community that you serve all the time, where people come when they’re in need, not just for food and for a meal, but for an experience of finding out what’s going on — sharing news, supporting each other, sharing stories, finding out the names for help,” Moodie said, “that isn’t going to help.”

CHS COVID-19

More coverage…

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