BUSINESS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020
County creates
application for
CARES Act relief
Small businesses that have been aff ected by
COVID-19 can apply for grants until Dec. 15
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
A heated tent sits amid the fog outside The Pheasant Blue Collar Bar & Grill in Hermiston on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. This tent
and others in town are used for outdoor dining in compliance with the most recent round of COVID-19 dining restrictions.
Some restaurants add outdoor
dining amid COVID-19 restrictions
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
It was 33 degrees during
lunchtime on Friday, Dec.
4, but that didn’t stop some
restaurants from offering
outdoor dining.
It also didn’t stop some
customers from taking them
up on it.
“I don’t mind sitting in
the cold,” Shawn Jordan
said. “It’s not bad.”
Jordan was sitting under
a large tent outside The
Bridge in Umatilla, eat-
ing one of the bistro’s sig-
nature pizzas. Next to his
table, a large, gas-fi red out-
door heater helped take the
chill away.
He said he would rather
sit and enjoy his food rather
than take it home, and he is
trying to continue support-
ing local businesses during
the pandemic.
“We’ve still got to sup-
port restaurants,” he said.
“They’re doing what they
can to get whatever business
they can.”
Paulette Dufl oth, who
owns The Bridge with her
husband, Daren Dufl oth,
said they purchased the heat-
ers and tent after the newest
set of state COVID-19 reg-
ulations were announced,
allowing restaurants to add
outdoor dining to their pre-
viously allowed takeout and
delivery options.
“We try to evolve with
the changes,” she said.
Restaurants in Umatilla
County have been on a jour-
ney of frequently shifting
rules this year, getting put
on takeout only rules three
separate times — during
the initial statewide shut-
down in March, when Uma-
tilla County got sent back to
“baseline” status in August,
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
A heated tent for outdoor dining sits in the parking lot of The
Bridge in Umatilla on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020.
and when the state was put
on a “freeze” in November.
Restaurants were allowed to
add outdoor seating, but not
indoor dining, on Thursday,
Dec. 3.
Dufl oth said it’s been
a diffi cult year to be in the
restaurant business, but at
this point her family has
invested too much in The
Bridge to give up on it.
Under the current set of
guidelines for COVID-19,
restaurants in counties that
are classifi ed as an “extreme
risk” level — currently
including Umatilla and Mor-
row counties — can offer
takeout, delivery or outdoor
seating. The outdoor seating
must have a limit of six peo-
ple per table, and tents are
supposed to be kept open on
three sides when people are
eating there.
Restaurant owners across
the state have voiced com-
plaints that they feel unfairly
targeted compared to other
businesses. In November,
the Oregon Restaurant &
Lodging Association and the
Restaurant Law Center fi led
a joint complaint in federal
court for injunctive relief
from two-week freeze that
lasted from Nov. 18 to Dec.
3.
Some local govern-
ments have tried to help ease
the burden. In Hermiston,
the city is offering down-
town restaurants the use
of its parking lots for out-
door seating, and donated
$15,000 to the Hermiston
Downtown District to help
with seating and other items
needed. While most lots
remain empty, The Pheas-
ant Blue Collar Bar & Grill
has a large white tent set up
in the lot on Gladys Avenue
behind its restaurant.
Owner Cherie Bumpaous
said the tent can seat about
30 people, and features gas
heaters and lap blankets for
guests who want them. The
restaurant is also offering
take-out, and is open seven
days a week.
“It’s better than being
closed,” she said. “And cus-
tomers seem to like it.”
Customers can just come
to the tent and wait to be
seated and served there,
rather than ordering inside.
Bumpaous said it’s been
a diffi cult year for restau-
rants as they have seen a
drop-off in sales and tried to
keep up with ever-changing
restrictions. She said they’re
trying the best they can to
adapt, and to follow all the
cleaning precautions that
can to help keep people safe.
“I just think restaurants
are getting the short end of
the stick, and some of them
are going down,” she said.
Outside of the downtown
area, Midway Bar & Grill
offered dining inside a can-
vas tent forming a dining
space next to its building.
The bar is “highly encour-
aging” people make reserva-
tions ahead of time to make
sure there will be a table for
them.
Umatilla County busi-
nesses can now apply to
receive economic sup-
port from the state-funded
CARES Act, which pro-
vided the county with up
to $1.18 million in funds
to be distributed to busi-
nesses that have strug-
gled during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Businesses can apply
for support until Dec.
15 on Umatilla Coun-
ty’s website. The county
“encourages applications
from veterans, women,
Black, indigenous, people
of color, and tribal-owned
businesses.”
Businesses that will
receive priority in receiv-
ing fi nancial support will
include those in the hos-
pitality industry, such as
restaurants, bars, win-
eries, breweries, hotels
and motels. Other prior-
ity businesses will include
those which had to shut
down due to the two-week
“freeze” initiated by Gov.
Kate Brown, including fi t-
ness and entertainment
establishments like gyms,
theaters, bowling alleys
and museums.
The amount of money
that a business will receive
will vary depending on the
type of business and the
economic impact COVID-
19 has had. And busi-
nesses hoping to receive
funds must meet a variety
of requirements.
The business must be
headquartered and operate
in the county, be required
by law to be registered
with the Oregon Secretary
of State and be for-profi t
or tax-exempt under sec-
tion 501©3 of the internal
revenue code.
The business must
also have also been either
prohibited from operat-
ing during the two-week
freeze initiated by Gov.
Kate Brown, or show the
pandemic caused at least
a 25% decline in sales
between March 1 and Nov.
30 in comparison to 2019.
The business must
also employ 50 or fewer
full-time
equivalent
employees.
Certain companies will
be ineligible to receive
support. These include
passive real estate holding
companies, nonprofi ts that
are not tax-exempt and
businesses that have expe-
rienced a non-COVID-re-
lated decline in sales.
Businesses that are
delinquent on taxes due
on or before the date of
the application will also
be ineligible, as will those
that do not comply with
federal, state and local
laws.
Businesses that have
closed and do not intend
to reopen, and “adult-ori-
ented businesses that
derive a majority of income
from gambling activities,”
will also be ineligible to
receive support.
The county intends to
have the checks in the mail
by Dec. 30.
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