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Catch Hospitality Group laid off nearly 770 last month

All of the company’s restaurants including Catch New York and Catch Steak are closed

Catch New York at 21 9th Avenue (Credit: Catch; iStock)
Catch New York at 21 9th Avenue (Credit: Catch; iStock)

Catch Hospitality Group has laid off 767 people from its stable of New York City restaurants.

Over 356 workers at Catch NYC lost their jobs, while 330 additional employees were laid off at Catch Steak. The restaurant group also eliminated 81 jobs from Lexington Brass, located in the Hotel 48 Lex.

The layoffs took place on March 16 and were attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to notices filed in New York. The notices characterized the move as temporary.

Catch Hospitality Group did not respond to request for comment, but an answering message at the restaurants note that the venues are closed in accordance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order restricting in-house dining, and none of the restaurants are offering delivery or take out options.

The company has not publicly acknowledged the layoffs or its closure on its websites or social media accounts.

The layoffs at Catch are among the thousands that took place in March as the pandemic slowed the economy, bringing record levels of unemployment.

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In March, the national unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent from 3.5 percent in February. Last week, a record 6.6 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits.

Last Thursday and Friday, employers including the Manadarin Oriental and Soho House filed layoff notices for 7,300 workers in New York City due to Covid-19.

A survey by the NYC Hospitality Alliance late last month found that 1,870 restaurants, bars and nightclubs laid off or furloughed 67,650 employees since Cuomo’s order went into effect on March 16.

Various organizations are working to help restaurant owners and operators eventually reopen after the pandemic, including a newly formed group called The Restaurant Network, which is dedicated to establishing a set of “universal terms” to present to landlords. A group of more than 250 restaurant owners including chefs Bobby Flay and David Burke have joined so far.

Write to Erin Hudson at ekh@therealdeal.com

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CoronavirusRestaurantsRetail