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SBA to open Restaurant Revitalization Fund applications on Friday

President Joe Biden speaks before signing the PPP Extension Act of 2021 on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman is at right. (Associated Press)
By Thomas Clouse tomc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5495

Restaurant owners can begin Friday to register for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, for which the portal will open at 9 a.m. Monday.

SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced Tuesday that business owners can start registering at 6 a.m. Friday, and her agency will start accepting grant applications at the start of next week. The online applications will remain open until the $29.6 billion in available funding is exhausted.

“Restaurants are the core of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on main streets across the nation,” Guzman said in a statement. “They are among the businesses that have been hardest hit and need support to survive this pandemic.”

The grants were funded under the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law March 11 by President Joe Biden. The funding will provide restaurants with grants equal to their pandemic-related losses up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location.

Any money administered by the SBA must be used for allowable expenses by March 11, 2023.

The Washington Hospitality Association said Tuesday it is partnering with organizations across the state to help local businesses access the information and assistance they need to secure SBA grants from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, or RRF.

“This emergency relief is critical for the survival of many of Washington’s restaurants and small businesses,” Anthony Anton, association president and CEO, said in a news release. “The hospitality industry has been hit hardest of any industry in the state by far and we are working hard with partners across the state to help Washingtonians get ready to apply on Day 1.”

The association will provide technical assistant providers trained in RRF applications at www.WHA.fyi/rrf.

SBA officials recommend restaurant owners explore what will be needed during the application process in advance to ensure a smooth process.

Registration for an account starts at 6 a.m. Friday at restaurants.sba.gov

“The SBA has focused on the marketplace realities of our food and beverage businesses in designing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to meet businesses where they are,” Guzman said. “And we are committed to equity to ensure our smaller and underserved businesses, which have suffered the most, can access this critical relief, recover and grow more resilient.”