Did your restaurant suffer financial losses due to COVID-19 and its related lockdowns? Then now is the time to act and take advantage of the $28.6 billion the Small Business Administration has pumped into its Restaurant Revitalization Grants.

These Restaurant Revitalization Grants are grants, not loans; meaning that so long as you use them on eligible expenses by March 2023, they will not need to be repaid. That’s gifted money with very few strings. Eligible expenses include:

• Payroll
• Mortgage or rent
• Maintenance
• Suppliers
• And more

Eligible businesses are any food or beverage-based business that can prove a history of providing 33% of gross receipts for onsite food and beverage sales. This means bakeries, wineries, some inns, breweries, and distilleries may apply and get approved. The primary caveat is that any permanently closed business or business that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 11 liquidity will be disqualified.

To apply, register at the SBA application portal at resaturants.sba.gov. Download and prepare the documents applicable to your specific business and then submit those documents with an application through the resaturants.sba.gov portal. Acceptable documents are generally those that show 2020 and up-to-date 2021 gross receipts, ie federal tax returns and point of sale reports from a SBA restaurant partner. Applicants can also submit via a POS vendor without registered with the SBA website.

Restaurant Expenses Payable by New SBA Grants

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) opened the application window for their Restaurant Revitalization Grants and within just two days received 186,200 applicants. The fund is still open, but restaurant owners who haven’t applied yet need to start if they want a share of the billions of dollars being given out by the federal government.

The Restaurant Revitalization Grants consist of $28.6 billion of funding that’s been approved via the American Rescue Act. This money is designated to help restaurants and related food and beverage-serving businesses recoup losses sustained due to COVID-19 and its lockdowns. These are grants not loans and thus will not need to be repaid so long as money is spent on eligible expenses by March 11, 2023.

Eligible expenses include:

• Business payroll costs, including group health care and other insurance premiums as well as sick leave and related costs
• Payments on any mortgage obligations
• Rent payment for those businesses operating under a lease agreement. Note, prepayment of rent is not eligible.
• Business debt service on both principal and interest
• Business utility payments
• Business maintenance expenses
• Construction of outdoor seating
• Business supplies, including protective equipment and cleaning materials or extra services
• Business food and beverage expenses
• Covered supplier costs
• Other general operating expenses that were incurred between February 15, 2020 and March 11, 2023

A business is eligible if they can provide documentation during the application process showing that 33% of their gross sales was or is from onsite food and beverage sales. Approved businesses may receive up to $10 million per business entity and no more than $5 million per actual location.

To apply, go to the restaurants.sba.gov portal or apply via one of these SBA-recognized POS vendors.

Act Now and Receive Up to $10 Million in Free Business Grants

The U.S. Small Business Administration is giving away $28.6 billion in restaurant grants, and already hundreds of thousands of businesses have submitted their applications to grab some of it. Have you?

This is grant money that will not need to be paid back so long as it gets used by March 11, 2023. Eligible businesses are any business that can show 33% of its gross profits come from onsite food and/or beverage sales.

In order to apply, go to the SBA online application portal at https://restaurants.sba.gov or apply through a POS provider like Oracle, NCR Corporation (Aloha), Clover, Square, or Toast. In order to submit an application, you will need on hand the following required documentation:

• Verification for tax information, preferable IRS Form 1120.
• Gross receipts documentation
  • Business tax returns
  • IRS Forms 1040 Schedule C
  • Bank statements
  • Point of sale reports
• Brewpubs, taprooms, breweries, distilleries, bakeries, inns, tasting rooms, and similar spaces must give evidence that onsite sales to the public comprised of a minimum of 33% gross receipts in 2019. Newly opened businesses in 2020 will have to prove the same for that year.

So what are you waiting for? Go apply now!