Why GoFundMe Campaigns Weren't Enough to Help Restaurant Workers

Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz spent the night of March 16 frantically calling and texting their employees. Illinois Executive Order 2020-18 had just gone into effect, ordering all state businesses to discontinue on-premises consumption of food and beverage. Boehm and Katz, co-founders of Chicago’s Boka Restaurant Group, knew that they would need to furlough nearly all of their 1,842 employees, salaried and hourly alike. “We just jumped on the phone that night,” said...