May 12, 2020 - Update

Cuba Libre Employee Support Fund 

Cuba Libre’s campaign to raise and award grants to help our most vulnerable employees during the COVID-19 crisis has wrapped up. Fundraising through GoFundMe and the sale of gift cards and cookbooks added nearly $20,000 to our $10,000 personal donation, for a total of almost $30,000. With this money we provided 44 grants to help employees and their families facing the most dire circumstances. While we are proud that we raised a very meaningful amount of money, of course, we wish it were enough to provide assistance to every employee in need. 

We are very proud of your fellow employees who volunteered to serve on the Cuba Libre Employee Support Fund Committee. We owe them a debt of gratitude for taking on this great responsibility with such diligence and compassion. They worked together through numerous long sessions to determine how to use these funds to make an impact on the lives of our most at-risk employees.

When Will We Reopen? 

As states and other jurisdictions in which we have restaurants plan their phased reopenings, we are faced with the decision of when to reopen. The timing of our reopening will likely be different for each restaurant. We will resume operations when we feel confident that we will be able to keep our employees safe and working without further interruption.  Our decision will be based on the loosening of government restrictions on our occupancy and whether our locations will be busy enough to support our payroll and other expenses. At this time there isn’t enough information to predict when these reopenings will occur.

In the meantime, to meet the challenges we will face upon reopening, your general managers and executive chefs are working with our other company leaders to map out new sanitation, social distancing and other safety protocols, as well as new menus for dining in, delivery and takeout.  When you return to work, you will receive training on numerous new procedures and a few new menu items. As we get closer to our reopenings you should expect your managers to reach out to you to determine your availability for work.

We are grateful for your patience and your personal resilience. We look forward to getting everyone back to work as soon as conditions allow. We miss each and every one of you and hope you and your loved ones are well.

Barry and Larry