GoFundMe Pages Try To Help Restaurants Survive

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With Chicago's restaurant industry almost at a standstill, tens of thousands of dollars have been donated to help workers depending on tips get by.

GoFundMe pages for individual restaurants now total in the hundreds, and making sure employees get that money isn't as easy as it sounds.

"We are tip employees, so we make our money on a daily basis," said Antonio Delarosa of Cicero.

Delarosa is a waiter at Piccolo Sogno. Owners took out a loan to make their first payroll, but tips are the majority of Delarosa's income.

"With this crisis it's been tough," he said. "We are hanging in there."

"It's a tough time," said co-owner Tony Priolo. "We don't know if there's a tomorrow."

At the request of staff Priolo started a GoFundMe page for them. Clients pitched in, and it has reached nearly $37,000.

"They are opening their hearts to us. I never thought this," said Priolo.

Brindille Restaurant started a staff support page, too, raising over $16,000 for workers.

"I was overwhelmed," said Brindille co-owner Carrie Nahabedian.

Throughout the Chicago area, industry sources say there are at least 500 GoFundMe pages set up to aid tip based workers during the coronavirus crisis, but it takes some work.

"It was a lot more complicated, but in the end it all worked out cause these guys are like family," Priolo said.

He said restaurants should consult with their lawyers and accountants first to decide how they will distribute the funds to workers.  There is also a two week wait for a taxed payout.

"It's not like you can call them send a message and move the funds," Nahabedian said.

Chef Nahabidian made sure to spell out who would receive the funds and how they would be divided on Brindille's GoFundMe page.

"You just didn't want it to go to a big whale of a restaurant," she said. "It was going to help every single individual."

With GoFundMe's verification protocols, the soonest these pages can pay out will be at month's end. Waiters like Delarosa are appreciative.

"We make our money on a daily basis, and any money we can get is more than welcome," Delarosa said.

If you set up a staff support page, GoFundMe still wants your social security number and a bank account for the final transfer.  For nonprofits they also charge a small transaction fee for each donation and a percentage fee of a few points of the total for the final transfer.