DES MOINES, Iowa — Following the governor's latest proclamation, restaurants and bars are ordered to shut their doors at 10 p.m. until at least Dec. 10.
The industry has already lost millions in dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest blow is expected to hurt bars more.
"Well, for a lot of the restaurants, the impact is minimal because people aren't staying out," said Jessica Dunker with the Iowa Restaurant Association (IRA).
"The public health measures that people have been talking about been frightening people away from restaurants, which is unfortunate, because we have taken so many safety protocols to keep people safe," Dunker said.
Bars are seeing more of an impact already, according to Dunker.
"It's devastating because it's essentially a closure for bars," she said.
That's because customers usually head to bars around 9 p.m., leaving only an hour for patrons to visit.
"Like everyone else we've been watching the hospitalization rates, and that is a cause for concern. We certainly don't want to see our health care resources drained. And, unfortunately, you know we have a sentence again because we seem to be that punching bag for every single time there is a public health crisis that something might be coming," she said.
Dunker said the governor's office didn't inform the IRA of the new proclamation until hours before, which is problematic for these businesses.
"We're an industry that needs four or five days notice, because we have food inventories of fresh perishable goods, and we have alcohol inventories as well that are also fresh and perishable, although many people don't realize that," Dunker said.
Dunker estimates that the restaurant industry is already down by $1 billion after the first shutdown, which is about 25%. She said now it's around 75%.
"In fact, I would not be surprised if a number of owners that want to remain open once that all the public health mitigation measures are lifted might just optionally close to preserve capital," Dunker concluded.