Guidelines released for Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The U.S. Small Business Administration this week announced key details about a federal program to provide emergency assistance to eligible restaurants, bars and other qualifying businesses impacted by COVID-19.
The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring jobs back and revive the industry, the American Rescue Plan established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).
The RRF will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding if funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Eligible entities can include:
- Restaurants
- Food stands, food trucks, food carts
- Caterers
- Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns
- Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars
- Bakeries
- Brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms
- Breweries and/or microbreweries
- Wineries and distilleries
- Inns
- Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products
Details on application requirements, eligibility and a program guide are now available in English at www.sba.gov/restaurants or in Spanish at www.sba.gov/restaurantes. Click here to sign up for a 2:30 p.m. Thursday webinar on the RRF program facilitated by the Virginia Small Business Development Center.
Applications are expected to be accepted starting in the coming weeks. For the first 21 days that the program is open, the SBA will prioritize reviewing applications from small businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Following the 21-day period, all eligible applicants are encouraged to submit applications.
As the SBA builds and prepares to roll out the program, this dedicated SBA website is the best source for up-to-date information for eligible restaurants interested in the RRF.
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