Relief on the way for leisure industry

A business owner’s guide to Pa.’s next wave of COVID-19 relief grants

Help is on the way for Pennsylvania’s struggling bars, hotels, and restaurants when $145 million in state grants becomes available this month.

The aid is targeted at businesses with fewer than 300 employees that have lost at least 25% of their sales as a result of the pandemic. Priority will go to those businesses that have not received relief from other state and federal programs, had to temporarily close as a result of Gov. Tom Wolf’s business shutdown orders, or lost more than half of their revenue in 2020.

But the details of how and when to apply vary from county to county.

First off, business owners need to find out which organization will be handling applications in their county.

These local groups must start taking applications by March 15, at the latest, although some plan to start sooner. Businesses in Lancaster County, for instance, will be able to apply on Monday.

Some counties — Montgomery and Dauphin for instance — have already made the application forms available so that business owners can start to prepare their paperwork. Other counties, like York and Allegheny, are still developing them but encourage business owners to sign up for email updates. Allegheny County’s portal is expected to go live on March 15.

As with previous business aid programs, a rush of applications is expected, with demand far exceeding the funding available. The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & Capital Region Economic Development Corporation, which is administering the program in Dauphin and Perry counties, warns businesses that the program is expected to be “quickly oversubscribed” once applications open there and that the application window can be closed “at any time.”

Business owners in those counties should look carefully at the information already available online, which includes eligibility criteria, sample application forms, and details on the supporting documents required, said David Black, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber’s president and CEO.

The organization will also hold a training session at 9 a. m. Thursday, walking business owners through the application process step by step.

The grant program is rolling out as Congress weighs a final vote on another stimulus package that includes $15 billion in grants for small businesses.

The state funding will help small businesses survive until more federal relief becomes available, said John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.

“We’re describing it as a down payment on what it will take to help save the restaurant and hotel industry,” he said.

Allegheny County will receive $13.7 million of $145 million in state money. To be eligible for grants that range from $5,000 to $50,000, a business must have less than 300 employees and demonstrate financial losses that resulted from the pandemic.