SBA OKs relief funds for 21,000 restaurants

Awards are part of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which opened May 3

Approved applicants begin seeing federal funds in their bank accounts earlier this week.

WASHINGTON, D.C. >> The U.S. Small Business Administration said Thursday that in less than two weeks, it has received more than 147,000 applications from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners under the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).

The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan, and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

Since the fund opened on May 3, a total of $2.7 billion of relief funds have been distributed to 21,000 restaurants. Because the SBA is distributing funding to approved applicants on a rolling basis, approved applicants began seeing funds in their bank accounts earlier this week, according to the agency.

Applications received so far from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners total $29 billion in requested relief funds, the agency said. Overall, the RRF program has received more than 266,000 applications representing more than $65 billion in requested funds.

According to SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund is helping restaurants and other food and beverage businesses across the country “get the help they desperately need to recover and rebuild from this pandemic.”

“The numbers show we’ve been particularly successful at reaching the smallest restaurants and underserved communities that have struggled to access relief. These businesses are the pillars of our nation’s neighborhoods and communities. We are making progress, but we have much more work to do as we continue reaching our underserved entrepreneurs,” Guzman said in a statement.

In addition to a $5 billion setaside established by Congress for applicants with gross receipts not more than $500,000, the SBA created two additional funding allocations to ensure the smallest of the small restaurants and other eating establishments such as food trucks and carts get the aid needed:

•$500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts less than $50,000; and

• $4 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts between $500,000 and $1,500,000.

In the first days of the RRF program, after weeks of targeted outreach that included 600 local and national informational events, SBA received:

• 13,114 applications from businesses with under $50,000 in prepandemic revenue requesting $330 million in funds

• 100,410 applications from businesses with under $500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $8.14 billion in funds

• 61,535 applicants from businesses with $500,000 to $1.5 million in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $15.1 billion in funds

The SBA said it will keep the application portal open for businesses with 2019 annual revenue of not more than $50,000, because there

is still potential funding available. Eligible establishments that meet this revenue standard are encouraged to apply through SBA-recognized point-of-sale vendors or directly via the SBA online application portal.

Under the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, restaurants are eligible for funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses, capped at $10 million per business and $5 million per location. The SBA will continue to fund approved applications until all funds have been exhausted.

During the first 21-days the application portal is open, SBA will accept applications from all eligible applicants, but only process and fund priority group applications — small businesses owned by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Following the 21-day priority period, eligible applications will be funded in the order in which they have been received.

Nearly half of the overall submitted applications came from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners.

“Awarding grants within a week of restaurants and bars applying demonstrates SBA’s steadfast commitment to getting people the help they need as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Erika Palmer, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said in a statement. She added that restaurants and bars across the country have been “devastated” by the pandemic and have been unable to access the relief they need to stay afloat.

“This is what so many businesses have been waiting for,” she added.

For more information about the Restaurant Revitalization Program, visit https://sba.gov/restaurants.