Over 100k restaurants were awarded $28.6 billion; Average award was $283K
Press Release
On July 2, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman announced the closure of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program, signed into law by President Joe Biden as part of the American Rescue Plan. The program provided much needed economic aid to restaurants and other establishments struggling to make ends meet as a result of the pandemic.
“The SBA Utah District Office has had the pleasure of working closely with our resource partners at the Small Business Development Centers and the Women’s Business Centers to ensure restaurant owners were prepared to apply for this much needed relief,” said Marla Trollan, SBA Utah District Director. “We are pleased that the Restaurant Revitalization Fund was able to provide awards for 507 Utah restaurants amounting to over $122 million in relief. For restaurants or other businesses that were not able to receive this assistance, we recommend they consider the Economic Injury Disaster Loans as funds are still available.”
“The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund provided desperately needed relief to more than 100,000 restaurants and other food and beverage businesses across the nation with significant funding going to our hardest-hit, underserved businesses,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman. “Restaurants are at the center of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on Main Streets. As among the first to close in this pandemic and likely the last to reopen, many are still struggling to survive. The SBA will continue to work hard to ensure they get the resources they need to recover, rebuild and be resilient.”
As of June 30, 2021, the RRF program received more than 278,000 submitted eligible applications representing over $72.2 billion in requested funds, and approximately 101,000 applicants have been approved to restaurants, bars and other restaurant-type businesses. Underserved populations received approximately $18 billion in grant awards including :
Women-owned businesses – $7.5 billion
Veteran-owned businesses – $1 billion
Social and economically disadvantaged-owned businesses – $6.7 billion
Businesses Owned by Representatives of Multiple Underserved Populations – $2.8 billion
The remainder of the $28.6 billion was awarded to eligible applicants not identified as part of an underserved group.
The average size of grant awards to applicants was $283K:
2% of approved dollars for $50K and Under
9% of approved dollars for $50K – $100K
6% of approved dollars for $100K – $150K
2% of approved dollars for $150K – $350K
2% of approved dollars for $350K – $1M
4% of approved dollars for $1M – $2M
0% of approved dollars for $2M – $5M
6% of approved dollars for $5M – $10M
As outlined by Congress, restaurants and bars were eligible for economic aid equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, with a cap of $10 million per business and $5 million per location. The funds were available for certain eligible uses, like payroll and rent.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application platform will remain open for the next two weeks to allow applicants to check their status, address payment corrections or ask questions. The SBA will disable access to the platform on July 14, 2021.
With the closure of the RRF, the SBA will continue deliver economic aid to help small businesses recover with critical relief through programs such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans [EIDL], Targeted EIDL Advance and Supplemental Targeted Advance and the Community Navigator Program. For additional information on SBA’s Economic Relief programs, visit COVID-19 relief options (sba.gov)