Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Chris Cribbs, MA, State Specialist for Entrepreneurship
If, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, your restaurants, bars, and other similar places of business that serve food or drink are barely making payroll or aren’t making payroll, you are behind on your utilities, your loans are almost in default, you are behind on your rent, your facility is in need of maintenance, you need supplies, or you need money and not a loan… you can apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) became public law (P.L. 117-2). Section 5003 established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and appropriated $28.6 billion for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to award funds. The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program 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. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.
Eligible entities are businesses that are not permanently closed and include businesses where the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink including:
Restaurants
Food stands, food trucks, food carts
Caterers
Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns
Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products
Other similar places of business in which the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink
• Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
•*Bakeries
Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
•*Bakeries
*Brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms
*Breweries and/or microbreweries
*Wineries and distilleries
Any business operating as a franchise and meeting all other program requirements is eligible. The franchise must be listed on the SBA Franchise Directory. In the application portal, applicants will be able to look up their entity on the SBA Franchise Directory.
*Bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, breweries, microbreweries, wineries and distilleries: In order to be eligible, these businesses must provide documentation with their application that on-site sales to the public comprised at least 33% of gross receipts in 2019. For businesses who opened in 2020 or that have not yet opened, the applicant's original business model should have contemplated at least 33% of gross receipts in on-site sales to the public.**Inns: To be eligible, these businesses must provide documentation with their application that on-site sales of food and beverage to the public comprised at least 33% of gross receipts in 2019. For businesses who opened in 2020 or that have not yet opened, the applicant's original business model should have contemplated at least 33% of gross receipts in on-site food and beverage sales to the public.