Restaurant Revitalization Fund Program Receives More Than 147,000 Applications

In full transparency, the following is a press release from the Small Business Administration

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WASHINGTON DC – The Restaurant Revitalization Fund has received more than 147,000 applications from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners, requesting a total of $29 billion in relief funds.

To date, a total of $2.7 billion of relief funds have been distributed to 21,000 restaurants since the Restaurant Revitalization Fund opened on May 3, 2021.  

In addition to a $5 billion set-aside established by Congress for applicants with gross receipts not more than $500,000, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman created two additional funding allocations to ensure the smallest of the small restaurants and other eating establishments such as food trucks and carts get the aid needed:

1) $500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts less than $50,000;

2) $4 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts between $500,000 and $1,500,000.

In the first days of the program, after weeks of targeted outreach that included 600 local and national informational events, SBA has received:

• 13,114 applications from businesses with under $50,000 in pre-pandemic revenue requesting $330 million in funds
• 100,410 applications from businesses with under $500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $8.14 billion in funds
• 61,535 applicants from businesses with $500,000 – $1,500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue requesting $15.1 billion in funds

Because SBA still has potential funding available for eligible establishments with 2019 annual revenue of not more than $50,000, the application portal will remain open. 

Eligible establishments that meet this revenue standard are encouraged to apply through SBA-recognized point-of-sale vendors or directly via the SBA online application portal.