Welcome to Government Watch, a weekly Restaurant Business column focused on politics, regulation, legislation, and other governmental issues of relevance to the restaurant industry. This week's edition looks at where the aspirants for national office and their entourages tend to eat while on the campaign trail. Plus, restaurants needing capital to rebuild after Hurricanes Helene and Milton may be waiting for weeks if they're hoping for a loan from the Small Business Administration.
Election officials are projecting that the victor in November’s presidential contest may not be known for days because of the way ballots are collected and verified in the wake of the Big Lie. But two winners can already be declared: Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.
According to a study by the Washington Post’s editorial data analysts (and, yes, the paper does have a numbers-crunching desk), those brands have been the go-to fast-food chains for campaigners needing to refuel. Republican campaign teams had spent $200,000 on Chick-fil-A specialties like chicken sandwiches and waffle fries as of Sept. 20, making the notoriously conservative brand the GOP’s favorite QSR by far.
In contrast, Democratic campaigns spent only one-twentieth of that total, or 5%. Kamala Harris’ party leaned more toward New Age-y options like Panera and Sweetgreen.
In general, the Dems are not nearly the fast-food fans their opponents are. In reviewing 21,000 restaurant receipts filed with campaign finance watchdog agencies, WaPo’s Department of Data found Republicans outspent Democrats at grab-and-go places at a rate of 18:1.
It’s not as if the party currently controlling the White House and Senate is less convenience-driven. WaPo found that Democrats spent $280,000 on delivery from Jan. 1, 2023 to Sept. 20, 2024, compared with Republicans’ outlay of $80,000.
The report notes that coffee proved popular within both parties, and “Starbucks was the runaway winner among all campaigns.” Purchases from the chain whose former CEO once considered his own presidential run were about double what was spent at Dunkin’.
But the choice of where to go for a caffeine jolt was definitely a partisan issue. Democrats spend twice as much at the home of the green apron as their opponents did. The sales breakdown by party was almost exactly the reverse at Dunkin’.
The statistical deep dive found unity elsewhere between the parties. WaPo noted that Republicans and Democrats spent roughly the same amounts at Italian, French and fast-casual restaurants, with “American fare” proving the top choice of both parties. Barbecue and steak proved particularly popular, according to the report.
The story was based on a review by the paper’s Department of Data of 21,000 restaurant receipts that were filed as part of the finance reports campaigns are required to report as a safeguard against embezzlement or other shenanigans. To make the project more manageable, the study was narrowed to what was spent at the 500 restaurants that collected at least $5,000 from political aspirants.
In total, $13 million was spent at those establishments by campaign teams, according to the report.
SBA runs out of money for hurricane relief
As expected, the U.S. Small Business Administration has burned through all of its funds for helping restaurants and other small businesses rebound from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The agency is still accepting loan applications from enterprises in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and other areas that were walloped, but said it will not be able to award the capital until it gets a re-up from Congress.
That will mean waiting for a thumbs up or down until Nov. 6 at the earliest. Michael Johnson, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said over the weekend that he would not convene a special session of Congress until after the election. Representatives are not scheduled to return to the Capitol until Nov. 12.
Johnson said the delay is necessary to provide states with sufficient time to accurately assess damage from the two storms, which hit the Southeast almost back to back.
The SBA has already received 12,000 loan applications from businesses and individuals that were walloped by Hurricane Milton. It is not clear how many of those requests were filled.
About $48 million has already been loaned to 700 victims of Hurricane Helene, the agency said.
Businesses that qualify can borrow up to $2 million at interest rates as low as 4%. The funds are intended to help the borrowers rebuild and cover what they lost while their operations were impaired.
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