Episode 40: The Past, Present, and Future of the NYC Hospitality Scene with Andrew Rigie, Executive Director at the New York City Hospitality Alliance

In this episode, Kate and Rachel are joined by Andrew Rigie, Executive Director at the New York City Hospitality Alliance. Rigie comes from years of experience in the hospitality industry and launched the NYC Hospitality Alliance in 2012 to deliver education, services, and representation to the NYC restaurant and nightlife scene in government and media.

Throughout the pandemic, Rigie has been a major advocate for all types of policies to support the hospitality industry through the COVID-19 crisis: from city legislation to suspend personal liability on restaurant leases to capping third-party delivery fees, enforcing the now permanent Open Restaurants program to allow outdoor seating on the city sidewalks outside a restaurant, and most recently the Restaurant Relief Fund, which is included in the 1.9 trillion dollar American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021. The Restaurant Relief Fund gives 28.6 billion dollars worth of grant money to restaurants in need and is a piece of legislation heavily backed by New York Senator Schumer, whom Rigie closely supported. 

Rigie discusses all of these experiences in the episode, along with what more needs to happen to get restaurants completely back on their feet, other pre-pandemic challenges in the hospitality industry that now should be addressed, and the overall power of the hospitality community.