US Restaurants Face Possible Ruin Because of Coronavirus Fears
美国餐饮业或因冠状病毒面临破产
Months before coronavirus fears hit the United States, business was slow at Mediterranean Breeze, a family-owned Greek restaurant near Washington, D.C.
在冠状病毒袭击美国的数月前，位于华盛顿特区附近的一家家族经营的希腊餐馆“地中海风情”餐厅就已生意惨淡。
Terry Kasotakis is the restaurant’s owner. Both he and Paul Johnson, the general manager, were sure business would improve when the weather got warm.
餐厅老板名叫特里·卡索塔基斯。他和总经理保罗·约翰逊都坚信天气转暖后生意会好转。
“We were just kind of (waiting) for April because we have a big outdoor section and it's very popular, and it holds a lot of people,” Johnson said.
约翰逊说：“我们一直在等待四月的到来，因为我家餐厅有一个很宽敞的户外区域，它非常受欢迎而且能容纳很多人。”
Last week, business at the Virginia eatery was down 90 percent.
上周，弗吉尼亚餐馆的生意萎缩了90%。
The state of Virginia has told police to enforce a 10-person limit in restaurants. Several U.S. states have ordered all restaurants to close their dining rooms in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
弗吉尼亚州通知警方强制执行一家餐厅最多不能超过10人就餐的限制令。为减缓冠状病毒的传播，美国一些州已下令所有餐馆关闭堂食餐厅。
The governors of California, Connecticut and at least six other states are among those who have ordered restaurants and bars to close their dining rooms. The businesses are now limited to delivery or carry-out service only.
加利福尼亚州，康涅狄格州以及其他至少六个州的州长已下令餐厅及酒吧关闭堂食餐厅。餐饮业仅限运营外卖送餐或打包外带服务。
The U.S. Congress is considering measures that would expand loans to small businesses affected by coronavirus. Those loans would not make up for financial losses, but they could make it possible for a restaurant or bar to stay in business.
美国国会正在考虑将贷款措施扩大到受冠状病毒影响的小型企业。虽然这些贷款不能弥补它们财务上的损失，但能够使这些餐馆或酒吧继续活下去。
“The problem with a small restaurant, if you close, you still have to pay your insurance, you still have to pay an electric bill, you still have to pay rent,” explained economist Michael Hicks. He works at Ball State University in Indiana.
经济学家迈克尔·希克斯解释道：“小餐馆的问题是，即使餐馆关门它们仍然必须支付保险费、电费和租金。” 迈克尔·希克斯目前在印第安纳州的鲍尔州立大学任职。
Hicks notes that even with loans a small business will still lose money, “but you'll still be able to open, perhaps.”
希克斯指出，即使有了贷款小企业仍然会亏损“但这也许能让它们保持营业状态。”
Anwar Halteh owns Waterfront Pizza in Foster City, near San Francisco, California. He expects to lose 70 percent of his business, but he thinks his restaurant will survive.
安瓦尔·哈尔特在加利福尼亚州旧金山附近的福斯特城开了一家“海滨披萨店”。他预估将失去70%的业务，但他认为自己的餐厅能挺过去。
“I expect (carry-out) to give us maybe 30 percent of business, but we cut down our overhead by 80 percent so we should be able to be okay,” he says. “I only keep three people in the whole restaurant cleaning and cooking.”
他说：“我希望(打包外带)可以为我们提供30%的业务。同时我们将开销减少了80%，这样下来我们应该还过得去。整个餐厅我只留了三个人来做清洁和烹饪工作。”
Halteh says he does not have the money to keep paying the employees no longer working in the restaurant. But he believes things will go back to normal.
哈尔特说，他没有钱继续支付已不在餐厅继续工作的那部分员工的工资。但他认为情况会恢复正常的。
“I think, after it’s over, everything's going to be a booming economy,” he said.
他说：“我认为疫情结束后，社会经济一定会是繁荣兴旺的。”
The general manager of Virginia’s Mediterranean Breeze can only hope business will soon be back to where it was.
弗吉尼亚州“地中海风情”餐厅的总经理则只希望生意能很快会恢复到到原来的状态。
"I'm…hopeful that the virus situation will start to subside in the next five to 10 days, although I know a lot of the professionals are saying that's not going to be the case,” Paul Johnson said.
保罗·约翰逊说：“我希望病毒的影响在接下来的五到十天内能开始消退，尽管我知道很多专家都说不太可能会这样。”
He added that the 15-year-old restaurant cannot survive more than a month under these conditions.
他补充道，如果这种状况持续下去，这家拥有15年历史的餐厅可能活不过一个月。
“The local businesses…those are the ones that are really hurt here,” said Johnson. He hopes more people will give their carry-out business to family-owned restaurants like Mediterranean Breeze.
约翰逊说：“本地企业才是这里真正受到重创的企业。”他希望更多的人可以将他们的外卖业务转给像“地中海风情”这样的家族餐馆。
I’m Pete Musto.
皮特·穆斯托报道。
US Restaurants Face Possible Ruin Because of Coronavirus Fears
Months before coronavirus fears hit the United States, business was slow at Mediterranean Breeze, a family-owned Greek restaurant near Washington, D.C.
Terry Kasotakis is the restaurant’s owner. Both he and Paul Johnson, the general manager, were sure business would improve when the weather got warm.
“We were just kind of (waiting) for April because we have a big outdoor section and it's very popular, and it holds a lot of people,” Johnson said.
Last week, business at the Virginia eatery was down 90 percent.
The state of Virginia has told police to enforce a 10-person limit in restaurants. Several U.S. states have ordered all restaurants to close their dining rooms in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The governors of California, Connecticut and at least six other states are among those who have ordered restaurants and barsto close their dining rooms. The businesses are now limited to deliveryor carry-out service only.
The U.S. Congress is considering measures that would expand loans to small businesses affected by coronavirus. Those loans would not make up for financial losses, but they could make it possible for a restaurant or bar to stay in business.
“The problem with a small restaurant, if you close, you still have to pay your insurance, you still have to pay an electric bill, you still have to pay rent,” explained economist Michael Hicks. He works at Ball State University in Indiana.
Hicks notes that even with loans a small business will still lose money, “but you'll still be able to open, perhaps.”
Anwar Halteh owns Waterfront Pizza in Foster City, near San Francisco, California. He expects to lose 70 percent of his business, but he thinks his restaurant will survive.
“I expect (carry-out) to give us maybe 30 percent of business, but we cut down our overheadby 80 percent so we should be able to be okay,” he says. “I only keep three people in the whole restaurant cleaning and cooking.”
Halteh says he does not have the money to keep paying the employees no longer working in the restaurant. But he believes things will go back to normal.
“I think, after it’s over, everything's going to be a boomingeconomy,” he said.
The general manager of Virginia’s Mediterranean Breeze can only hope business will soon be back to where it was.
"I'm…hopeful that the virus situation will start to subsidein the next five to 10 days, although I know a lot of the professionalsare saying that's not going to be the case,” Paul Johnson said.
He added that the 15-year-old restaurant cannot survive more than a month under these conditions.
“The local businesses…those are the ones that are really hurt here,” said Johnson. He hopes more people will give their carry-out business to family-owned restaurants like Mediterranean Breeze.
I’m Pete Musto.
内容来自 VOA英语学习网：https://www.chinavoa.com/show-8789-242249-1.html
