SBA to Begin Accepting Restaurant Grant Applications on May 3

Restaurant owners, bar owners and other foodservice businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to tap into the $29 billion-dollar Restaurant Revitalization Fund starting next week.

Part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the program provides restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses, up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. 

Recipients are not required to repay the grants as long as the funds are used for what the program deems “eligible uses”  — an exhaustive list that includes payroll costs, business mortgage payments, business debt service, utility payments, maintenance expenses and food and beverage expenses — no later than March 11, 2023.

Besides restaurants and bars, eligible applicants include operators of food trucks, food stands and food carts, caterers, bakeries, breweries, wineries, distilleries and inns.

Registration for the SBA application portal will open on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 am ET. Applicants working with an SBA-recognized Point of Sale vendor — including Square, Toast, Clover and Aloha — do not need to register beforehand on the application portal.

The SBA will accept applications from all eligible applicants starting on Monday, May 3 at noon ET, but will only process and fund priority group applications for the first 21 days. Priority applicants include women and veterans as well as socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. 

To find out more, you can watch a webinar on SBA's YouTube channel, visit your local SBA district office or call the support office at 1-844-279-8898.