Many Shuttered Puerto Rican Restaurants Won't Reopen, Industry Leader Says

More than 1,000 restaurants remain closed three and a half months after Hurricane Maria’s destructive passage through the island, Puerto Rico Restaurant Association President Ramón Leal said in a radio interview with Radio Isla 1320 AM on Thursday.

“Many of them, unfortunately, are not going to reopen,” Leal said, adding that the still shuttered restaurants make up more than 20 percent of the island’s 5,000 food establish.

He said that while some restaurants have been getting by with generators despite the continuing lack of electrical service, the reasons the owners of other restaurants have not resumed operations have been numerous and are not limited to the lack of electricity.

“Some have not received their insurance payment yet; in other cases their workers have left,” he said. “The easiest way to see the extent of the problem is to walk through your community where the restaurants were typically located and you will see that some have already removed their furniture.”

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