Founders of three Utah-based restaurant brands are banding together to keep their employees working while residents in other sectors face unemployment.

On March 17, Gov. Gary Herbert issued an order to all restaurants, bars and good service establishments that suspended dine-in operations for two weeks. Since then, the order has been extended.

While dine-in operations have been completely prohibited, takeout, drive-thru and delivery options are still on the menu. For several businesses, in order to keep serving their communities, operations have been adapted to allow for drive-thru and takeout services.

On Thursday, the Utah Department of Workforce Services released the number of unemployment claims from March 15-21, which showed a 1,391% increase since state officials prohibited dine-in restaurant operations and limited social gatherings to 10 people or less.

The industry seeing the biggest increase was food preparation and services, which made up about 37% of the filings.

Now, a family of brands under the Savory Fund restaurant portfolio have come together to create a $1 million relief fund for the over 1,400 employees it hopes to keep working throughout the pandemic. R&R BBQ, Mo’ Bettahs Hawaiian and Swig have each committed $250,000 to the fund.

The union’s managing directors — Greg Warnock and Andrew Smith — have also contributed $250,000.

“We commit to keeping our employees engaged whether serving customers, serving each other, or serving the community that has been so good to us,” Smith said in a statement.

Smith asserted that as long as companies can operate in a socially conscious and extremely safe manner, employees should have the opportunity to earn the money they need to support themselves.

The union is motivated now more than ever to ensuring its employees feel they have a purpose and direction, he said, and that includes ensuring they are provided with economic relief during this pandemic.

The $1 million fund is already in the process of being deployed to help the businesses and brands under the Savory Fund portfolio maintain paychecks for its employees.

Unemployment creates a ripple effect that increasingly affects every individual in a community. When residents are unable to pay their bills or afford simple luxuries, other companies or small businesses lose revenue, which forces these businesses to lay off more employees and continues to cause an increase in unemployment.

Small businesses will be receiving significant relief on the state and federal level, Herbert said, as relief plans are passed in Washington, D.C. and in Salt Lake City.