Newsweek, the national news magazine and website, has featured a Leesburg restauranteur for the steps he has taken to help his employees during this coronavirus pandemic.
The article appeared Monday and highlighted Curtis Allred, a familiar name to readers of The Burn thanks to his popular restaurants Delirium Cafe in downtown Leesburg and Wild Wood Pizzeria at the Village at Leesburg.
According to the article, Allred had to lay off 80 percent of his staff at the two restaurants due to the closure of restaurant dining rooms and the social distancing underway by most everyone. But he is still trying to help his now former employees.
“Allred acted swiftly and decisively in cutting staff, enabling those affected to quickly claim unemployment benefits rather than hanging on to their job for only a smattering of hours, burning their savings or borrowing money just to make ends meet,” the article stated. “But as well as helping them to find unemployment benefits, he is feeding them, too. For free.”
“They helped us get open, they represent me and my family and our investors to every guest,” Allred told Newsweek. “The least I can do is feed them for a few days while we see the lay of the land and what may come this week.”
You can read the whole article over on the Newsweek website here.
(Image at top: Curtis Allred seen cutting the ribbon at Wild Wood Pizzeria in February 2020. Source: Wild Wood Pizza)