The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is targeting early April to launch a phased rollout of the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), a senior SBA official testified during a Senate small business committee hearing.
The American Rescue Plan Act created the RRF to provide restaurants with grants equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, up to $10 million per entity, or $5 million per physical location. The SBA will initially prioritize applications from restaurants owned and operated, or controlled by, women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Recipients can use the grant funds for payroll costs, utilities, rent payments, building maintenance, operational expenses, paid sick leave and other eligible expenses.