Last month, the American Rescue Plan Act designated $28.6 billion for restaurants and other food and beverage businesses as we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Just this week the SBA released the final Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant program details and application information. Since registration begins on Friday, April 30, restaurant business owners need to act fast.
View our past article for the full background information and calculation details on this new SBA grant program for restaurants, caterers, and more food and beverage businesses.
Restaurant applicants can apply directly through the SBA for up to $5 million per location (capped at $10 million total) in grants, with a minimum award of $1,000. The funds must be spent on eligible expenses incurred between February 15, 2020 and March 11, 2023. Any remaining funds at the end of the covered period must be returned. If a business that receives grant funds permanently closes before March 11, 2023, the covered period will end when the business permanently closes.
The eligibility for the grants has been updated in recent SBA guidance. The business must have had at least 33% gross receipts be onsite food and beverage sales in 2019. The full list includes:
Applicants must be one of the following forms of organization:
Ineligible food and beverage businesses include publicly-traded companies, a state or local government-operated business, nonprofits, an entity with more than 20 locations, and if they have a pending application or received funds from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Note that entity re-organization for purposes of qualification for the 21-day priority period will result in automatic disqualification.
All applicants must certify that current economic uncertainty makes the funding request necessary to support ongoing or anticipated operations.
View Our In-depth Video on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Updates and Application Tips
Registration for an account for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will begin nationwide at 9:00am EST on Friday, April 30, 2021. You must register before applying.
The application portal will open nationwide on Monday, May 3, 2021 at 12:00pm EST. The application will remain open until all $28.6 billion in funding has been secured. The first 21 days of the application opening are reserved for socially or economically disadvantaged businesses and those owned and operated by women and veterans. However, every eligible business is to apply on Monday, May 3 regardless of this exclusivity period. Following the 21-day exclusivity period, the rest of the applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Some documents may speed up the process while others could take the SBA up to two weeks to review.
The SBA advises applicants to consult with their CPA and accounting professionals for the best chance at a complete and well-documented application. It is important to prepare ahead of time as an incomplete application or missing documentation will cause your RRF application to be rejected. If you have to restart the application in that case, the process resets to the beginning. Since funds are first come, first served, this puts your chance of receiving the grant at risk. If you are in process of applying for PPP funds, you must complete the PPP application prior to the RRF application.
Throughout this past year, Alloy Silverstein’s accountants and advisors have remained on top of all the relief programs to help struggling businesses. For direct assistance, even over the weekend, please call Angela Venti at 856-685-6728 or email solutions@alloysilverstein.com.
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