Boston trade group says restaurants are losing up to $15,000 a week because customers are put off by new vaccine rules

• Vaccine rules left Boston Restaurants struggling, according to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
• The association complained about the rules to the city’s mayor, Michelle Wu, The Boston Herald reported.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) has written to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu complaining that restaurants are losing up to $15,000 a week due to the vaccine mandate.

The new requirement to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19 came into force on January 15.

“The damage that has already occurred statewide in the restaurant industry in connection with the COVID-19[feminine] The pandemic can’t be undone, but the future of our restaurants, small businesses and jobs depends on the choices our leaders make today,” MRA Chairman Bob Luz said in the statement. letter, as reported by the Boston Herald.

The MRA is a statewide association that claims it provides access, influence, and protection for restoration professionals. It also provides support for hospitality industry in town halls and the State Capitol.

The official rules mean that companies are often required to ask customers for proof of vaccination, in response to the spike in Omicron cases. There were also many protests against the new rules, Boston News 25 reported.

In the letter to the mayor, the MRA wrote: “We ask that you reevaluate the vaccine mandate in light of rapidly improving conditions in Boston and provide the roadmap for the most beleaguered industry, in the most affected city in the state, can make a recovery plan.”

Wu told Insider via email: “As community positivity dwindles, as we see vaccination rates increase, we want to get back to a situation at some point where people are completely free to live their lives. .”

According to the Boston Herald, Wu told reporters on Tuesday that the city was still trying to figure out the best way forward while still being cautious. “The hope is that we will continue to see progress as our vaccination rates increase, and that will mean we should be able to adjust our policies down the line,” she said.

In recent months, parts of Massachusetts’ restaurant industry have also been badly hit by labor shortages. In October, Insider’s Zahra Tayeb reported that the owner of a restaurant chain in the state said staffing shortages were having a huge impact on local businesses.