Ray Flores, the president of Flores Concepts, which operates El Charro Café and other restaurants, was among nearly 30 representatives from the food industry that offered their support for Mayor Regina Romero’s proposal to go takeout only — hours before the emergency proclamation was made.
After Romero met with community and business leaders on Monday, she asked Flores, who attended the meeting, to get her a list of operators who supported the decision, he said.
He sent a letter Tuesday morning on behalf of restaurant and business owners, including Adam Lehrman of Tucson Foodie, Janos Wilder of Carriage House and Shelby Collier of Beyond Bread.
The letter, which was obtained by the Star and time-stamped 9:30 a.m., stated they “support your decision that all restaurants in Tucson move to a takeout/delivery only dining program for a 2 week period in response to the risk of the COVID-19 virus effective immediately.”
People are also reading…
Romero’s official proclamation was time-stamped at 1:15 p.m., nearly four hours before she made the announcement.
Flores defended the letter, saying “the mayor did the right thing” by asking the professionals, “and I applaud her for that.”
“We’ve got to work together. We got there on this one,” he said.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch
In this Series
Political Notebook: Sinema pushes Ducey, restaurants show support, GOP pushes for signatures
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
