The California Restaurant Association (CRA) has launched a new campaign, “What The Fork?!”, aimed at highlighting the impact of state and local regulations on neighborhood restaurants. The campaign features billboards inside Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport and social media ads targeting the Capitol region.
Jot Condie, President and CEO of the CRA, stated, “Forty percent of California restaurants we surveyed reported that they did not make a profit last year. We’ve been ringing alarm bells as iconic restaurants shutter and, still, lawmakers add more burdensome regulations, so it’s time to get the attention of our guests, their voters.”
According to the CRA, many local restaurants are still dealing with debts from pandemic-related closures while also facing increased costs for rent, food, utilities, insurance, and labor. The association attributes these challenges in part to more than 400,000 regulations enacted by California lawmakers over the years.
Condie added, “Our ‘What The Fork!’ campaign will raise voter awareness to pressure lawmakers to stop legislating all of us into a hole.”
Fred Glick, Incoming Chair of the CRA Board and Brewpub Chieftain at Karl Strauss Brewing Company said: “This isn’t an exaggeration; neighborhood restaurants are at the brink. Voters deserve to know that the high prices we are all paying are a result of California lawmakers incessantly adding more unnecessary hoops and added costs.”
Dolores C. Jackson, CRA board member and part of the family ownership of Lolita’s Mexican Food in San Diego explained: “We aren’t big corporations that can absorb added costs; every time they pass another unnecessary rule, lawmakers are eating into the 3-5 cents that small neighborhood restaurants are making on the dollar.”
The CRA warns that restaurant closures have broader effects on communities since these businesses contribute significantly to funding public services such as safety initiatives and schools.
For further information about policies affecting restaurant prices or to sign a petition related to this issue, visit https://www.calrest.org/wtf.
