SBA announces opening date for Restaurant Revitalization Fund

The Small Business Administration has announced the opening date for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

Registration for the SBA application portal will begin on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 a.m. ET. Applications will open on Monday, May 3, 2021, at noon ET.

Program Details:
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.

Who can apply:
Eligible entities who have experienced pandemic-related revenue loss include:

• Restaurants
• Food stands, food trucks, food carts
• Caterers
• Bars, saloons, lounges, taverns
• Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
• Bakeries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
• Brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
• Breweries and/or microbreweries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
• Wineries and distilleries (onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
• Inns (onsite sales of food and beverage to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts)
• Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products

 
How to apply:
You can apply through SBA-recognized Point of Sale (POS) vendors or directly via SBA in a forthcoming online application portal:   https://restaurants.sba.gov.
 
When to apply:
1. Priority period: Days 1 through 21 - SBA will accept applications from all eligible applicants, but only process and fund priority group applications.
During this period, SBA will fund applications where the applicant has self-certified that it meets the eligibility requirements for a small business owned by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Priority groups include:

• A small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are:
  Women, or
  Veterans, or
  Socially and economically disadvantaged (see below).
• Applicants must self-certify on the application that they meet eligibility requirements
• Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.
• Economically disadvantaged individuals are those socially disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities as compared to others in the same business area who are not socially disadvantaged.

 2. Open to all applicants: Days 22 through funds exhaustion - SBA will accept applications from all eligible applicants and process applications in the order in which they are approved by SBA.
 
Supplemental documents available include:

•  Restaurant Revitalization Fund program guide
•  Restaurant Revitalization Fund sample application (SBA Form 3172)