A group of the best-known Czech restaurant and café owners have written an open letter to Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš demanding support from the government in return for the state of the emergency. “Most of the gastronomic industry in the Czech Republic is in serious danger,” they warned. “Without quick, clearly formulated guarantees of financial help from the state most restaurants will not be able to remain in business.” They argue not that having been forced to close by the state, they were legally entitled to compensation. But they also warn that as a significant employer and source of tax revenues, the sector is a strategic one for the Czech state. Influential restaurant owners such as Zdeněk Polreich, Jan Boroš, Miloš Hodan, Daniel Krondák, Riccardo Lucque, Ladislav Starka, David Petřík and Tomáš Karpíšek were among the signatories. The state has put forward a program of loan guarantees to help companies out, but these businessmen aren’t interested. “None of us want to take our companies into long-term debt when our short-term future will likely not be prosperous,” they wrote. “Our professional pride and healthy business sense won’t allow us to take our companies into such an uncertain situation with debt. We are responsible for the future of thousands of employees and our teams are the most valuable thing we have.”
