SBA readies restaurant revitalization program

Fund prioritizes women, vets, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals

The program will provide $28.6 billion in direct relief funds to hard-hit food establishments.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is getting ready to implement the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The program will provide $28.6 billion in direct relief funds to restaurants and other hard-hit food establishments that have experienced economic distress and significant operational losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the SBA will begin registrations on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 a.m. and will open applications on Monday, May 3, 2021, at noon for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The online application will remain open to any eligible establishment until all funds are exhausted.

According to Guzman, restaurants are among the businesses that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, and “need support to survive.”

“The SBA has focused on the marketplace realities of our food and beverage businesses in designing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to meet businesses where they are. And we are committed to equity to ensure our smaller and underserved businesses, which have suffered the most, can access this critical relief, recover, and grow more resilient,” Guzman said in a press release.

The fund was established under the American Rescue Plan and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11. It will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Funds must be used for allowable expenses by March 11, 2023.

The SBA has developed a checklist that qualifying applicants can used to familiarize themselves with the application. It is suggested restaurants do the following to prepare:

•Register for an account in advance at restaurants.sba.gov starting Friday, April 30, at 9 a.m.

• Review the official guidance, including program guide, frequently asked questions, and application sample.

•Prepare the required documentation.

• Work with a point-of-sale vendor or visit restaurants.sba.gov to submit an application when the application portal opens. If an applicant is working with a pointof-sale vendor, it is not necessary to register on the site beforehand, according to the agency.

• Attend a live recorded virtual training webinar:

• Wednesday, April 28 at 1 p.m.

• Wednesday, April 28 at 2:30 p.m. “Recognizing the great urgency to help restaurants keep their doors open — and with a clear mandate from Congress — the SBA worked at a breakneck speed and is excited to launch this program,” Patrick Kelley, SBA associate administrator, Office of Capital Access, said in the release. “From day one, we engaged with diverse stakeholders in the food industry community to make sure we built and delivered the program equitably, quickly, and efficiently.”

On April 22, the administration announced it would work with point-ofsale providers to support eligible restaurant owners access the RRF application or data they need to fill out the application. In announcing the support, the SBA called the effort a “groundbreaking effort to provide a customer-centric approach to the delivery of relief funds.”

“The SBA must be as entrepreneurial as the entrepreneurs we serve. These partnerships enable us to meet small businesses where they are, instead of waiting for them to come to us,” Guzman said in a release announcing the initiative.

For the first 21 days that the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program is open, the SBA will prioritize funding applications from businesses owned and controlled by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. All eligible applicants are encouraged to submit applications as soon as the portal opens. Following the 21 days, all eligible applications will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Consistent with the legislation and the intent of Congress, the SBA has created a $9.5 billion set-aside: $5 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts of not more than $500,000; $4 billion is set aside for applicants with 2019 gross receipts from $500,001 to $1,500,000; and $500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts not more than $50,000.

For more information, visit sba.gov/restaurants or in Spanish at sba.gov/ restaurantes.