On March 11th, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Act, which will provide 28.6 billion in restaurant relief funds. This plan includes the $28.6 billion in relief grants for small restaurants, including $1,400 stimulus checks for Americans with incomes under $75,000.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) is a restaurant-specific grant program that will administer these grants to restaurants that are eligible to apply. This $28.6 billion will provide up to $5 million to restaurants that qualify.
These grants will allow us to balance the economy and the damage done to struggling restaurants around the country. National Restaurant Association president and CEO Tom Bené said in a statement that this is just the beginning of a much longer recovery process but is hopeful for the impact these grants will have.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will open up the Revitalization grants application process within the upcoming weeks. Posts about qualifications, instructions, and further information will soon be available.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Most American restaurants and bars that lost revenue in the past year will most likely be eligible to apply.
- The establishments named for eligibility include: “restaurant, food stand, food truck, food cart, caterer, saloon, inn, tavern, bar, lounge, brewpub, tasting room, taproom, licensed facility or premise of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products.”
- Businesses must meet the franchise requirements of under 20 locations to meet the grant requirements.
- Publicly traded entities cannot qualify.
- Applications will be prioritized by groups, including women, veterans, and oppressed groups who have received prioritization for the first wave of grants before a wider rollout.
- The whole application process will take around 30-45 days.
- The SBA website will be the technology platform dealing with applications to make the process as efficient as possible. Once up and running, the program will make direct payments to applicants—a change from SVO operations used in other grants the past year.
- These changes are there in the hope of a smooth transition for the hundreds and thousands of applicants expected to apply.
HOW CAN YOU APPLY?
The SBA does not yet have an official launch date, those interested in RRF grants should keep a lookout on the SBA’s Covid-19 relief options on their website.
Not every restaurant was operating for the entirety of 2019 and 2020. In that case, the program states:
- Restaurants that weren’t operational in 2019 can receive a grant equal to the difference between the establishment’s average monthly revenue multiplied by 12.
- Restaurants that weren’t in operation until 2020 can receive a grant equal to the sum of eligible expenses minus gross receipts received.
- Restaurants that aren’t in operation at the time of their application date can still receive grant funding, but only if it has made eligible expenses
TAKE THE IMPACT SURVEY
The National Restaurant Association launched its latest covid-19 impact survey. Concierge taking a few moments to fill out the survey to help with data collection for local, state, and federal outreach efforts.
