Indian American owners want everyone vaccinated so people could go out again.
President Joe Biden ‘stopped by’ ‘NaanStop’ the other day for a remote conversation with Neal and Samir Idnani, owners of the Indian restaurant in Atlanta, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
“As small business owners during the pandemic, every day is an open question,” said Samir in a video released by the White House. “When President Biden found out about our situation, he reached out.”
“How’re you guys doing?” asked the President to find out how they were faring amid the coronavirus pandemic that has seen small business across the world struggling.
NaanStop’s business, which serves Indian food at three locations in Atlanta, had gone down almost 75 per cent since the pandemic hit last year, responded Neal. Their staff too had gone down from 20 to 25 employees to 10-15 people.
“What is the greatest need you have now for your restaurants to be able to survive?” asked Biden. Their greatest need, replied Neal is for everyone to get vaccinated so people could go out again.
Biden then spoke about his rescue plan for small businesses. “I put together a rescue plan that provides tens of billions of dollars in grants to small businesses,” he said.
“We have to invest more, not less. We’ve got to give you a chance to rebuild that’s separate and apart from dealing with the virus,” he added.
The video has been watched over 180,000 times on Facebook, where it has started a spirited discussion around Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is designed to fund vaccination, provide relief to families and support to struggling communities to help speed up the country’s economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Great food, great people, great interview – we are so grateful to have an administration that is trying to help small businesses and local communities,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“Your burdensome regulations and increased taxes are going to do more harm than Covid has,” another countered.