Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that all restaurants and bars in Illinois will be closed effective at the end of the business day on Monday, continuing through March 30, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Drive-through and curbside pickup service from restaurants will be allowed to continue.
The move will send thousands of foodservice workers home, without work.
But one Chicago based breakfast chain is standing by its hourly employees with the creation of an assistance fund.
Taki Kastanis, who owns almost a dozen Yolk restaurants throughout the Chicagoland area, said in a post on the restaurant chain’s social media channels that 10 per cent of all online sales would be donated to the special fund to help sidelined employees who would be impacted by the closures.
Kastanis also owns locations in Indiana, Florida and Texas, all of which have either been closed by state officials or will be closed in the coming days. The fund will benefit all employees nationwide.
According to Kastanis, the move was second nature to him.
“Our staff is our family,” Kastanis said. “Of course our immediate instinct is to mobilize in these crazy times to tend to their needs. It’s our responsibility to help.”
Yolk will also post a donation link on their Facebook page for members of the community to donate directly to the fund.