As part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is going to be awarding funding through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to eligible restaurants, bars, brewpubs, and other similar businesses that serve food or drinks.  Unlike the PPP, this is not considered a loan.  Additionally, there are more options for what business owners are able to do with the money once it is received.  The opening date for applications is Monday, May 3. It will be beneficial for business owners to begin the process of getting needed documents together as the funds are expected to run out quickly.  Below are some of the key points.

• Eligible entities must make at least 33% of their gross revenue from the sale of food or beverages.

• Entities will determine the amount they qualify by filling out one of three applications.  The difference in applications is due to businesses falling into one of three categories; businesses that were in operation pre-2019, businesses that opened during 2019, and businesses that began making sales between January 1, 2020 and March 10, 2021 or businesses that have had expenses as of March 11, 2021 but no sales.  

• Non-profits and publicly traded companies are not eligible.

• This program does have interactions with previous COVID related relief such as PPP, the Shuttered Venues Operator Grant, and EIDL advances.  

• The SBA will be prioritizing businesses that are 51% owned by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.  These groups will have the first 21 days of the application process to apply in advance of other businesses.  After that 21 days the application will be open to all other eligible businesses.

• Many of these applications will be able to be completed through partner Point-of-Sale systems such as Square.  If your provider is not a partner with the SBA, applications will be done through the SBA website or over the phone.

We are sure that many business owners will have questions regarding this program.  While there are still a number of fine points that need to be clarified by the SBA, the RRF will provide much needed, virtually no strings attached, relief to many businesses.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.