Sam Gurwitt Photos
Claire Criscuolo and Richard Blumenthal Friday outside of Claire’s.
Two downtown businesses that have grown accustomed to serving meals to go spent a few minutes Friday serving stories to go that hopefully will reach Mitch McConnell and help businesses like them stay afloat.
The messenger will be U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The Connecticut Democrat stopped by two Chapel Street staples Friday at 1 p.m. in his mission to help pass another stimulus package through the Senate to help communities deal with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.’
On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a $2.2 trillion relief bill that includes funding to help small businesses stay afloat. Blumenthal would like to see the Republican-controlled Senate pass the measure as well — and figured Claire’s Corner Copia and the Union League Café might be able to help.
“I’m hoping maybe we can do it this week, but the problem is [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell holds the keys,” Blumenthal told Union League General Manager Romain Turpault, who had asked when new funding might become available. “I’m coming to businesses to I can tell stories that I can tell colleagues, and him, about how great the need is.”
Blumenthal chose two downtown restaurants of which he said he has many memories. With two kids studying at Yale, he said, he would often come to Claire’s for brunch. The eggs are a favorite. And the salads. “The salads are terrific. You pick a salad, you can’t go wrong,” he said.
Blumenthal, Chef Guillaume Traversaz, and Turpault.
As he told Union League staff, he has fond memories of the restaurant from attending many events there over the years.
As much as Blumenthal may need stories from those restaurants to tell his colleagues, they perhaps need his help even more.
Claire Criscuolo, the owner of Claire’s, said the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan she received helped her hire back her 23 staff members and reopen the restaurant after its renovation.
Another round of funding, she said, would allow her to avoid going into significant debt from Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. She said business is down by about 50 percent, as it is for most restaurants, so she has had to take out loans to stay afloat.
“Things are just not at full capacity,” she said. “But because we make everything from scratch, we need a big staff. We make the bread, we make the stocks, the all-natural dyes … As my husband used to say, ‘You don’t know how to do anything the easy way, do you?’”
Blumenthal with Criscuolo and Garrett Shaheen of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce looking at the features of the newly renovated Claire’s dining room.
On top of the regular costs of operating, she said, she now has a higher electricity bill because she has to keep air filters running at all times. Then there is the $200 a month she spends on the filters themselves.
All the while, traffic on Chapel Street is down, and no one holds meetings in the restaurant anymore, as they used to. She said mornings, which before the pandemic were bustling, are slow now.
Without another round of federal aid, it might be tough for Claire’s to continue baking its famous cakes and those hearty, heavenly rolls that pair perfectly with a bowl of soup and a pat of butter, without racking up a hefty debt.
Down the street at the Union League, staff told Blumenthal about the difficulties they have faced in the pandemic.
They stood in an empty dining room filled with 14 empty tables covered in white table cloths. In normal times, that room might be full, but the restaurant has had to close for lunch because there is no business. It is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, and on Sunday for brunch.
Director of Sales Christina Fitzgerald said that Yale used to bring in an enormous amount of business. In a normal year, the restaurant would book 600 private events. She said it has hosted five since March 16.
In addition to drastically reducing its hours, the restaurant has started serving takeout, an unusual tack for a fine-dining venue that depends so heavily on atmosphere.
“It’s not the same,” Chef Guillaume Traversaz said of getting takeout from a fine-dining restaurant.
Union League was denied for an SBA Economic Impact Disaster Loan. Fitzgerald said the restaurant has filed for reconsideration for the loan.
When asked what another round of PPP funding would do for the restaurant, she sighed.
“It would allow us to breathe,” she said.
She said the restaurant might stop having to track every employee’s shift to the minute to avoid overtime. It might allow it to open another day. It would allow it to increase its inventory.
Blumenthal takes phone call in the Union League.
Blumenthal said this round of funding would work similarly to previous rounds, though businesses would have to demonstrate a reduction in revenue. He said the potential new round of funding is timely.
“It’s more necessary than ever for restaurants,” he said, standing in Claire’s with a cup of coffee Criscuolo had just handed him. Diners sat at the tables spaced out around the room, and a waitress walked by holding a plate of nachos and a plate with a small pizza.
Blumenthal gestured at the tables set up outside the windows on College Street.
“Nobody’s going to want to eat out here when it’s 40 degrees.”
He said he hopes his Republican colleagues are hearing similar stories from restaurants in their states.
Senate Republicans are unlikely to pass the full $2.2 trillion package that made it through the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday after talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that she is optimistic she can reach a deal with Republicans on a compromise bill. Though Republicans won’t support some parts of the $2.2 trillion package, many support pieces of it, including more aid for small businesses, the Washington Post reported.
“If logic prevails, there will be another relief package,” said Blumenthal.