$28.6 Billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications Open

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Small Business Administration began taking applications for the American Rescue Plan’s $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which is to help business owners with COVID-19 pandemic-related expenses, U.S. Rep.Thomas Suozzi’s office said Monday.

The relief fund will provide restaurants, and other eligible businesses, with funding that is equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses up to $10 million per business, and the relief does not have to be repaid, provided that the funding is put toward eligible uses by March 11, 2023, according to Suozzi’s office.

Under the relief plan, restaurants, food stands, food trucks and carts, caterers, as well as bars, saloons, lounges, taverns, as well as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars are eligible. Other types of eligible hospitality industry businesses include brew pubs, tasting rooms, and tap rooms; breweries and microbreweries; wineries and distilleries; inns, and bakeries, which have onsite public sales comprising of at least 33% of gross receipts.

Suozzi, a Democrat whose district covers the north shore from eastern Queens to Smithtown, urged restaurateurs to “act quickly and take advantage” of the relief, in a news release to media on Monday afternoon.

“On March 22, 2020, non-essential businesses in New York shut down. The reopening and recovery of businesses have been uneven ever since,” he said, adding, “Today, we are proud to announce that help is on the way for the restaurants that are so vital to the culture of Long Island, New York City, and our state.”

NEED TO KNOW:

• To find a funding guide, click HERE.
• Visit SBA.gov/restaurants for more information.
• To register, go to https://restaurants.sba.gov/requests/borrower/login/.