Waltham Small Businesses Could Benefit From $28B Restaurant Fund

WALTHAM, MA — Last year, Mighty Squirrel brewery and taproom was hitting its stride after a year in business when the pandemic struck. The owners of that small business were one of dozens of business owners across Waltham suddenly in a position of extreme uncertainty about their future.

“Local restaurants feed our families, bring our communities together, and are home to our favorite foods and memories – they’ve also been hit incredibly hard by this pandemic,” said Clark in a statement.

In recognition of Small Business Week, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark who represents Waltham and the Massachusetts 5th Congressional District, met with restaurant owners and brewers at Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co.

She was also promoting a new tool for small businesses: the Small Business Administration’s $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund that rolled out this week and helping share how the funding could help Waltham's restaurants and small businesses survive, and even grow.

Signed into law as part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, this program provides emergency assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other qualifying businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Eligible entities who have experienced pandemic-related revenue loss include and are eligible to apply for funding are:

• Restaurants and bakeries
• Food stands, food trucks, food carts
• Caterers
• Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns
• Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
• Pubs, 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

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund is one of three SBA programs made available to small businesses during the pandemic. In addition to the restaurant funding, the American Rescue Plan included:

• Additional $7.5 billion for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans
• $15B for the Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) Advance program
• Expansion of PPP eligibility to larger non-profits
• $1.25B to the Shuttered Venue Grant Program

Since the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the SBA has approved 4.2 million PPP loans worth $229 billion, 3.77 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for $195 billion, and disbursed 5.8 million EIDL advances amounting to $20 billion.

• Mighty Squirrel Craft Brewery, Tap Room Opens Dec. 2018