On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act passed into law and established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses remain open. The RRF provides eligible businesses with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Funds must be used for allowable expenses by March 11, 2023. Recipients are not required to repay the loan as long as funds are used for eligible uses by that date.
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, and food carts
- Caterers
- Bars, saloons, lounges, and taverns
- Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products
- Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Bakeries*
- Brewpubs, tasting rooms, and taprooms*
- Breweries and microbreweries*
- Wineries and distilleries*
- Inns**
- Other similar places of business in which the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink
*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 that opened in 2020 or 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 that opened in 2020 or 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.
Note: To satisfy the statutory requirement for “place of business in which the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink,” an eligible entity must have at least 33% in 2019 on-site sales to the public. The original business model of eligible entities that opened in 2020 or have not yet opened should have contemplated at least 33% of gross receipts in on-site sales to the public. Those entities without additional documentation requirements, such as restaurants and bars, are presumed to have on-site sales to the public comprising at least 33% of gross receipts in 2019. All applicants must attest in the application to the following: “The applicant is eligible to receive funding under the rules in effect at the time this application is submitted.”
For the first 21 days that the program is open, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will prioritize funding applications from businesses owned and controlled by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. All eligible applicants are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible. Following the 21-day period, all eligible applications will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis.
As part of the fund, the SBA has set aside $9.5 billion to ensure the equitable distribution of relief, particularly for the smallest businesses. This includes $5 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts of not more than $500,000; $4 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts from $500,001 to $1.5 million; and $500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts not more than $50,000.
The SBA began receiving RRF applications directly on Monday, May 3, 2021. The online application process will remain open to any eligible organization until all funds are exhausted. Banks, including Wintrust Community Banks, are not taking or processing applications for this program. You can apply through SBA-recognized point of sale (POS) vendors or directly through the SBA via their online application portal.
Visit the SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund website for program details and help with your application
Webinar: Applying for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants – What Operators Need to Know, April 26, 2021
