TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Restaurants everywhere are struggling and trying to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bloomin’ Brands, headquartered in Tampa, has managed to keep all of its 90,000 employees on the payroll.
The CEO, Dave Deno, says he is the only one in the company not getting paid. He is voluntarily forgoing his salary during these tough economic times.
Deno is also a member of President Trump’s task force on re-opening the U.S. economy. He says they have had two conference calls thus far.
“The first phone call was just with the industry people talking about what concerns there were about the industry,” said Deno. “The second one was a broader nationwide conversation with people across industries.”
Deno says the task force has already made some recommendations.
“Give us as clear of guidance as possible regarding how you are going to open the country. Get testing in people’s hands so we know who has it,” he said.
Deno says he is cautiously optimistic about the future.
“Naturally in business, you have to plan for all contingencies but we’ve been through a lot in our country. I think we learn, we adapt and we move forward.”
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