The restaurant business can be a financial gamble even in the best of times, but COVID has made it nearly impossible for them to survive for any length of time. Many have already gone under for good, and the survivors are struggling to make enough money to pay whatever few workers they can afford to keep employed. Both indoor and outdoor dining have been banned at least through Dec. 28 by the state’s recent health order, leaving restaurants to struggle along with take-out service through what should be their busiest time of the year.

To assist restaurants and their workers, Alex Cherin, executive director of the Long Beach Restaurant Association, launched a GoFundMe fundraiser on Thursday to collect money by Dec. 31 to distribute to servers, kitchen staff and other restaurant employees who have been impacted or lost their jobs as a result of the COVID crises.

The fundraiser’s goal is $100,000, with the money collected to be distributed on New Year’s Eve at the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant.

“We’re going to try to cover all parts of the city,” said Cherin. “We’re going through all the council districts asking for input from the City Council members and restaurant owners to make sure we hit all different parts of the city and find the places that are most impacted.”

Cherin says that 75% of the proceeds collected through GoFundMe will go directly to kitchen staff and restaurant employees and 25% will go to offset costs for restaurants that are struggling to meet expenses.