The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced that they will soon open applications for their Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The American Rescue Plan Act established the RRF program in order to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open.
According to the program website: “This program 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 as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.”
Eligible entities who have experienced pandemic-related revenue loss include:
- Restaurants
- Food stands, food trucks, food carts
- Caterers
- Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns
- Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Bakeries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
- Brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
- Breweries and/or microbreweries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
- Wineries and distilleries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
- Inns (onsite sales of food and beverage to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
- Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products
Mark Matthias, owner of Beaches Restaurant & Bar in Vancouver, said he thinks the RRF program will be effective for most restaurants that experienced the mandated restrictions.
“It simplifies the calculations by comparing 2019 sales to 2020 sales, i.e., it pinpoints those truly affected,” Matthias said. “And it will help those who were forced to close but do not have the funds to reopen. It could provide them with the funds necessary to literally get back on their feet.”
Currently, the SBA is not yet accepting applications for the RRF program, but the official launch date of the program will be announced soon. Ahead of the application launch and over the next couple of weeks, the SBA will establish a seven-day pilot period for the RRF application portal and conduct extensive outreach and training on how to apply, application requirements and where to apply.
Following the pilot, the application portal will be opened to the public. 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.
All information about the RRF program can be found here.
