“It’s Rather Devastating”: The Coronavirus Outbreak Cost One NYC Caterer Half A Million Dollars

The coronavirus outbreak is lopping severe pressure on businesses globally. In the last 72 hours alone, we have covered New York City restaurants that have been decimated and executives in the airline and travel industry who have cut their salaries as a response.

One businessperson, New York city caterer David Turk, shared with Bloomberg how the outbreak has cost him $500,000 – and that’s only so far.

Just hours after we reported about the mass cancellations that were happening across the city, we are now privy to the financial mayhem it is wreaking. Turk said: “There was a deposit paid but the balance of it was what we were counting on, and of course it’s gone. Virtually everything that was on the books is either canceled or going to be rescheduled for a later time.”

New York City has taken drastic measures to stop the spread of the virus, including cancelling the St. Patrick’s Day parade, events at Madison Square Garden and shutting down Broadway. 

Businesses in the city are bracing for major disruption, the length and severity of which many are still unsure of.

Turk says about 10 events that he was scheduled to work have been cancelled. He also said that others in the catering industry are already laying people off. He plans on asking his landlord for a rent concession to try and prevent laying off his own workers. 

He concluded: “It’s rather devastating. This is going to be horrible for the New York economy. horrible. There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to need help.”