Industry group seeks water bill credits and renewed consideration of sales tax relief on prepared foods as restaurants face additional expenses to remain operational.
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico restaurants are working to keep their doors open and maintain service during the island’s water crisis, but the added cost of cistern refills, disposable products and already-high utility bills is putting additional pressure on an industry operating on tight margins.
Puerto Rico Restaurant Association (ASORE) President Dr. Sonia Navarro said restaurants have adopted stricter operating procedures to continue serving customers despite water rationing and recurring service interruptions.
“We are an industry that provides an essential service, a common good, which is food,” Navarro said in an interview. “When our people don’t have water, they go out to eat.”
For that reason, she said, restaurants are making every effort to remain open and provide customers with a safe environment without sacrificing service quality.
The challenge, however, comes at a cost.
Cisterns Add Another Utility Expense
Navarro said restaurants are relying on measures such as disposable products and cisterns to maintain operations when regular water service is interrupted.
ASORE wants the government and the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority to eventually consider credits on water bills to account for some of those extraordinary operating expenses.
Navarro said the combination of paying to fill cisterns while continuing to receive a monthly water bill could result in another major utility expense for restaurant operators.
“When you add that to the monthly water bill, it could be equivalent to what is being paid for electricity in Puerto Rico,” she said.
The issue did not begin with the current drought, according to Navarro.
She said some restaurants have dealt with recurring water infrastructure problems since February, forcing operators to begin adapting their businesses months before the current emergency intensified.
“The hurricane started in the pockets of all merchants and all Puerto Ricans at the beginning of the year,” Navarro said, describing the cumulative financial pressures businesses have faced in 2026.
ASORE Calls for Sales Tax Relief on Food
Navarro is also renewing the industry’s push to reconsider Puerto Rico’s sales and use tax on food, arguing that the current emergency further demonstrates the essential role restaurants play.
“Food is a necessity. Therefore, food should not pay sales tax, whether it is prepared or unprepared,” Navarro said.
She called on policymakers to analyze the issue specifically in the context of an emergency in which residents affected by water interruptions may increasingly depend on restaurants and other food businesses for prepared meals.
The proposal is consistent with a broader policy position ASORE has advocated this year as restaurant operators confront rising operating costs.
Water Is Critical to Restaurant Operations
Water availability is particularly significant for restaurants because it affects virtually every stage of their operations.
According to Navarro, ASORE estimates that approximately 70% of the water used in restaurant operations goes toward food preparation and cooking-related processes, while the remaining 30% is used for sanitation, cleaning and other needs.
That dependence makes prolonged interruptions especially challenging for an industry required to maintain strict food safety and sanitation standards.
“Running a restaurant is already an art,” Navarro said. Adding water and electricity costs — services that should represent basic utilities — requires operators to maintain an increasingly disciplined approach to their businesses while continuing to improve customer service.
Communication is therefore among ASORE’s primary requests to the government.
Navarro called for stronger contingency plans and better coordination so restaurant operators can anticipate interruptions and make the operational adjustments necessary to remain open.
Up to $10,000 Available for Some Businesses
Some affected restaurant operators may also qualify for government financial assistance.
Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce recently expanded its Economic Recovery Incentive Program, increasing the maximum assistance from $5,000 to $10,000 per eligible business.
The program now covers qualifying businesses with annual sales of up to $1 million and 25 employees or fewer in municipalities affected by water service interruptions.
ASORE has distributed information about the assistance program to restaurant operators and is helping members understand how to manage the emergency and identify available resources.
For Navarro, however, the broader discussion extends beyond short-term assistance.
The current drought has intensified existing concerns about infrastructure, utility costs and the ability of restaurants to absorb additional expenses without passing them on to consumers.
Despite those pressures, she said the industry’s immediate priority remains keeping restaurants operating.
“We don’t want to sacrifice that experience at any moment,” Navarro said. “Restaurants are doing everything possible to stay focused on our path of always providing better service, because food is a necessary good.”
