Fairfax City Restaurants Offered Grants To Prepare For Winter

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City plans to launch a Winter Preparedness Initiative Micro-Grant on Friday as part of its Fairfax City ReConnected Outdoors Program aimed at supporting the recovery of the city’s restaurant community.

The Winter Preparedness Initiative identifies guidelines to safely comply with outdoor dining standards during the cooler fall and winter months. As part of the initiative, the city is partnering with the city's Economic Development Authority to issue micro-grants that will provide direct assistance to city restaurants that seek to continue outdoor dining operations into the fall and winter seasons.

“We understand that colder weather will require our restaurant community to rethink some of their outdoor dining strategies,” Fairfax City Mayor David Meyer said Tuesday in a statement. “We want to ease that burden as much as possible for our city restaurants by providing financial assistance to allow them to make needed accommodations to ensure outdoor dining can continue as long as possible.”

Funds from the Winter Preparedness Initiative Micro-Grant will cover costs associated with adjustments and investments in preparing for cooler weather. The program will provide 100 city restaurants with a $3,000 grant for expenditures such as heating, lighting, furniture, fixtures, fire extinguishers, and landscaping.

In total, the city has allocated $300,000 from funding received through the state's allocation of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in connection with the coronavirus crisis. Grants will be reviewed on a first come, first-served basis starting Friday and running through Nov. 30, or as funds remain available.

Any restaurant that is looking to create temporary or expanded outdoor dining areas must have a FairfaxCity ReConnected Outdoors permit. Permits can be obtained by contacting Program Manager Nancy Montes at EDOCOVID19@fairfava.gov.

To learn more about Fairfax City’s Winter Preparedness Initiative and Micro-Grant, visit fairfaxcityconnected.com/winter.

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