$28.6B to rescue bars & eateries

Half a million independent restaurants and bars will soon be able to tap into a $28.6 billion grant program as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that President Biden is expected to sign into law in the coming days.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who backed the bipartisan Restaurants First Act, laid out the benefits of the provision Wednesday, saying it would save hundreds of restaurants and bars in New York State.

One estimate predicted a third of restaurants in the Empire State would have shuttered permanently without the grant package, according to Schumer.

“It comes in the nick of time,” he said Wednesday. “We want to get the word out. Restaurants — help is on the way, real help.”

About 500,000 restaurants and bars nationally are expected to be eligible for the grants. Those businesses employ approximately 11 million workers.

The House of Representatives approved the overall $1.9 trillion stimulus package Wednesday afternoon by a 220-to-211 vote virtually along party lines. The partisan passage now goes to Biden’s desk for a final signature.

The restaurant grants will be available to businesses that do not fall under the umbrella of a major chain. Only those with fewer than 20 locations will be eligible to receive funding under the program.

“We make sure that our independent restaurants, not these big chains, can come in and get it,” Schumer said. “We have nothing against them, but they don’t need the help the way our independent restaurants do.”

The number of grants issued to each restaurant or bar will be determined by the difference in gross revenue between 2019 and 2020, as well as expenses such as rent, payroll and mortgage payments. Priority will be given to businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans.

“This is a big deal,” said celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, who appeared with Schumer, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and other restaurant owners at a virtual press briefing Wednesday. “This is going to save so many restaurants.”

Robert St. John, of the Mississippi-based New South Restaurant Group, said Wednesday that losing his business and home seemed a very likely possibility last March when COVID hit. But with the prospect of federal aid, he can now ramp up.