Woodridge Offering Grants To Village's Restaurant Community

WOODRIDGE, IL — Woodridge village officials recently passed a resolution to create a Restaurant Relief Program to help eligible businesses financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

"State-mandated restrictions on on-premise dining, social distancing, and capacity restrictions have had a tremendous negative impact on Woodridge on-premise restaurants and breweries," village officials have said.

The program has authorized an immediate rebate on-premise liquor license fees to over 20 Woodridge-based restaurants.

The program includes two grant opportunities. Restaurants and breweries that rely primarily on their on-premise dining who have been significantly impacted by dining restrictions are eligible for a $7,500 maximum grant for operating expenses and a $15,000 maximum grant for capital expenses related to COVID-19.

The two types of grants:

• Furniture, equipment, and supplies to support expanded outdoor dining (tents, tables, chairs, heaters)
• Safety partitions, filtration systems, UV disinfection, and other COVID-19 modifications
• COVID-19 related signage regarding safety procedures (floor decals, wall signage, and other related messaging)
• PPE, COVID-19 related cleaning supplies (masks, gloves, plasticware, cleaning supplies over and above normal types/quantities specifically forCOVID)

Operating Expenses Grant – Eligible Expenses (up to $7,500)

• Rent
• Utilities
• Payroll
• Marketing
• Technology, website/point of sale upgrades
• Delivery partnerships (DoorDash, Uber Eats)

The funding for this program will be provided via a portion of the Village’s CARES Act allocation and is estimated to distribute $350,000 back into the Woodridge business community.

To apply for the grant, click here. Grant applications are due by Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 at

4 p.m.