Senator Wilk Sends Letter In Support Of Classifying Restaurants As Essential Businesses Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, sent a letter signed by senators of both parties to California Governor Gavin Newsom last Friday evening, asking the state to reclassify restaurants as essential businesses. The letter comes in the face of the fact that outdoor dining is set to remain closed until at least Dec. 27, at a time when many restaurants would normally be experiencing a business-saving boom of holiday business. “In 2019, more than 1.8 million jobs were attributed to the restaurant and foodservice industry in California. This equates to approximately eleven percent of employment in the state. Closed restaurants means jobs lost, missed rent, mortgage and car payments and a lot of unemployment checks,” reads the letter.